Amesbury poisoning: Police officer given all clear after Novichok exposure scare

Ella Wills8 July 2018

A police officer who was hospitalised over concerns that he may have been exposed to Novichok has been given the all-clear.

He was later taken to Salisbury District Hospital, a short distance from Amesbury where Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, fell ill last Saturday.

They remain in a critical condition in hospital after exposure to Novichok by handling a contaminated item.

Forensic investigators are continuing to comb for clues in Wiltshire after the latest Novichok poisonings - the second major investigation involving the nerve agent this year, following the case of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March.

Investigators wearing camouflage protective clothing entered the John Baker House assisted-living accommodation in Salisbury, where mother-of-three Ms Sturgess lives, after they took a sample from the outside of the building on Friday.

Other sites visited by the couple in the lead-up to their hospitalisation are also being looked at, as detectives piece together a timeline of their movements.

Officers have spoken to several key witnesses and are trawling through more than 1,300 hours of CCTV footage which has been collected so far.

Police have been unable to locate the source of the contamination and have not ruled out the possibility of more people falling ill from coming into contact with the substance left over after the Skripals were targeted.

One theory understood to be under investigation is whether the pair inadvertently found the container used to transport the nerve agent in the Skripal attack.

Public Health England has repeated "highly precautionary advice" for people who had visited five locations identified by police, but insisted there is no immediate health risk.

PHE advised washing clothes worn with regular detergent at a normal temperature; wiping items such as phones and handbags with cleansing or baby wipes; and double-bagging items that are dry-clean only with further instructions to follow.

The locations identified by police are: Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury; a property at John Baker House, Rolleston Street, Salisbury; a property on Muggleton Road, Amesbury; Boots the chemist, Stonehenge Walk, Amesbury, and the Baptist church on Raleigh Crescent, Amesbury.

The Metropolitan Police said: "Due to the unique challenges involved with this operation, police activity is expected to take weeks and months to complete.

"The focus of the investigation remains identifying the source of the contamination as quickly as possible."

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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