The Unseen Victim: Dawn Sturgess and the Salisbury Poisoning

A Pointless and Arbitrary Death

Dawn Sturgess' death in 2018 was a tragic consequence of a much larger event. She was not the intended target, but she paid the ultimate price.

The Novichok Poisoning

• Nerve Agent: The nerve agent Novichok, disguised as perfume, was found in a charity bin.
• Assassination Attempt: The poison was linked to an attempt to assassinate former Russian spy Sergei Skripal.
• Unfortunate Circumstances: Sturgess' partner, Charlie Rowley, unknowingly gave her the poison, leading to her untimely demise.

The Inquiry's Findings

• Moral Responsibility: The inquiry concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin bore moral responsibility for her death.
• Authorization: The assassination attempt on Skripal must have been authorized at the highest levels of the Russian government.
• UK Response: The UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, echoed this sentiment, calling the report a grave reminder of the Kremlin's disregard for innocent lives.

Russia's Denial

• Consistent Denial: Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the attacks.
• Dismissal: Dismissing the report's findings as "tasteless fairy tales."
• Sanctions: The UK government imposed sanctions on Russia's main military intelligence agency, the GRU, in response to the report.

Failings in Management

• Skripal's Management: The inquiry highlighted several failings in how Skripal was managed after his release in a prisoner swap.
• Assessments: Regular written assessments were not conducted.
• Alert System: There was no system in place to alert senior officers if anything significant happened to him.

Medical Confusion

• Symptom Confusion: The report addressed the confusion between symptoms of opioid overdose and nerve agent poisoning.
• Apology: Wiltshire Police apologized for wrongly referring to Sturgess as a "well-known drug user."
• Medical Treatment: The inquiry concluded that no medical treatment could have saved her life, as she had sustained an unsurvivable brain injury.

A Sobering Tale

In the end, Dawn Sturgess was an innocent victim of a cruel and cynical act. Her death was pointless and arbitrary, a stark reminder of the consequences of political violence. The report left her family with some answers, but also raised new questions. It is a sobering tale of how easily innocent lives can be caught in the crossfire of international disputes.