Novichok: Dawn Sturgess inquiry will start in Salisbury
No date's been set, but the Chair is 'satisfied' they should start here
The first substantive hearings for an inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess from Durrington will be held in Salisbury.
The Chair of the inquiry, Lord Hughes, made the decision during a preliminary hearing in London today (Friday 11th November).
He said that would be better for the family of 44 year old mother of three Dawn, who died in July 2018 after coming into contact with the nerve agent novichok:
"I'm quite satisfied these hearings should start in Salisbury and that the evidence of the family and of the immediate circumstances of this unfortunate lady's death should be dealt with there.
"I'm equally satisfied that a large portion of the rest of the evidence ought to be taken in London.
"The reasons are essentially: one, security, and two, logistics."
No date has been set for the hearings, but a further preliminary hearing is scheduled for the end of March 2023.
Former Home Secretary blocked documents
Today's hearing also heard that the former Home Secretary, Priti Patel, blocked a 'small set of documents' from being disclosed to the inquiry.
She signed a restriction notice in July this year, without consultation.
At the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Andrew O'Connor KC, counsel to the inquiry, said:
"I would not wish to leave the subject of the restriction notice without observing that it is an exceptional measure.
"In most cases it ought to be you and not the Secretary of State who takes the decision - we would submit, a judicial decision - as to what evidence can be adduced in open proceedings, and what material must remain in closed.
"All that said, it should be emphasised that this particular restriction notice is a limited measure - it applies to only a very small proportion of His Majesty's Government's documentation that has been made available to the inquiry."
The lawyer acting on behalf of Ms Sturgess's family said they are 'whistling and dancing in the dark' and fear the inquiry into her death will not take place next year.
Michael Mansfield KC urged the inquiry chair, to 'guard against' further delays in the case.
Thousands of documents reviewed
The hearing was also told about the 'difficulty and sheer length' of the disclosure process for evidence in the inquiry.
Dawn's family questioned whether the inquiry had sufficient resources to cope with the thousands of documents that had been submitted for review.
In response, Mr O'Connor said:
"Given the sensitivity of the material, there are limits to scaling up our capacity."
He told the hearing they were making 'very good progress' with police documents - adding that they had reviewed 23,000 documents to date.