Officers are still trying to work out how Ms Sturgess and Mr Rowley were exposed to the nerve agent although tests have confirmed they touched a contaminated item with their hands.<\/p>\n
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of UK Counter-Terrorism policing, said: “This is shocking and tragic news. Dawn leaves behind her family, including three children, and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this extremely difficult time.<\/p>\n
“The 45-year-old man who fell ill with Dawn remains critically ill in hospital and our thoughts are with him and his family as well.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mr Basu said the death “has only served to strengthen our resolve to identify and bring to justice the person or persons responsible for what I can only describe as an outrageous, reckless and barbaric act”.<\/p>\n He said: “Detectives will continue with their painstaking and meticulous work to gather all the available evidence so that we can understand how two citizens came to be exposed with such a deadly substance that tragically cost Dawn her life.”<\/p>\n Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital where Ms Sturgess died, said it was “desperately sad” and she expressed condolences to the 44-year-old’s family.<\/p>\n She said: “The staff here at Salisbury District Hospital worked tirelessly to save Dawn. Our staff are talented, dedicated and professional and I know today they will be hurting too.<\/p>\n “They did everything they could.”<\/p>\n Mr Rowley is also being treated at the hospital.<\/p>\n A police officer who was tested for Novichok poisoning was\u00a0given the all clear<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mrs May sent her “thoughts and condolences” and said officials are “working urgently to establish the facts”.<\/p>\n She said: “The government is committed to providing full support to the local community as it deals with this tragedy.”<\/p>\n British diplomat Julian King, the European Commissioner responsible for the EU’s security union, said: “Those behind this are murderers.”<\/p>\n Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he is “determined to bring the killers to justice”.<\/p>\n Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was “shocked”, adding: “A full and thorough police investigation must now establish the facts, provide support to the local community and bring those responsible to justice.”<\/p>\n Public Health England said the risk to the general public “remains low”.<\/p>\n Professor Paul Cosford said: “As a precaution we still advise the public not to pick up any strange items such as needles, syringes or unusual containers.”<\/p>\n He also said people in five locations between 22:00 BST on 29 June and 18:30 on 30 June continue to follow advice, namely: “Wash your clothes in a washing machine and to keep your items double-bagged and securely fastened, if they are dry-clean only.”<\/p>\n Those locations are Muggleton Road, Boots pharmacy and the Baptist church in Amebsury, and John Baker House and Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury.<\/p>\n Angus Macpherson, Wiltshire police and crime commissioner, said he was “horrified and appalled”.<\/p>\n He said: “Ms Sturgess was an innocent member of the public who should have been able to go about her daily life without becoming an unwilling victim in such an unprecedented, international, incident.”<\/p>\n The poisoning of the Skripals, both of whom spent weeks in hospital before being discharged, was blamed by the UK government on Russia.<\/p>\n Russian authorities denied any involvement.<\/p>\n After the hospitalisation of Ms Sturgess and Mr Rowley, Mr Javid accused the Russian state of using Britain as a “dumping ground for poison”.<\/p>\n The Russian Embassy hit back, accusing the government of trying to “muddy the waters” and “frighten its own citizens”.<\/p>\n In a statement, the Met Police said the possibility the poisoning of the Skripals and Ms Sturgess and Mr Rowley are linked is a “clear line of inquiry”.<\/p>\n A spokesman said the investigators are “not in a position to say whether the nerve agent was from the same batch that the Skirpals were exposed to”.<\/p>\n He also said: “There is no evidence that (Ms Sturgess and Mr Rowley) visited any of the sites that were decontaminated following the attempted murders of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March.”<\/p>\n By BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner<\/strong><\/p>\n The working hypothesis is that the pair became contaminated after touching a poison container left over from the March attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal.<\/p>\n The death of Dawn Sturgess, a British citizen on British soil, now changes the investigation to a murder inquiry, with all the diplomatic and security ramifications that carries.<\/p>\n Britain has been blaming Moscow for the original attack in March, saying there is no plausible alternative to the Kremlin having ordered the assassination attempt.<\/p>\n Russia has denied any involvement, suggesting instead this was the action of a weak British government looking to undermine the success of the current World Cup being hosted by Russia.<\/p>\n The next few days are likely to see further accusations and counter-accusations.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Dawn](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/DE7F\/production\/_102395965_sturgesscharlierrowley.jpg\")
<\/span>‘Murderers’<\/h2>\n
‘Unwilling victim’<\/h2>\n
Analysis<\/h2>\n