Police investigating a nerve agent attack on a Russian spy believe the former double agent, his daughter and a police sergeant were poisoned at his suburban home in Salisbury.
The development came as around 180 troops – including Royal Marines and chemical weapons specialists – were drafted in to help the huge team of anti-terror police already working on the case.
Sergei Skripal, 66, his daughter Yulia, 33, and Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, a 38-year-old married father-of-two, are all in hospital after coming into contact what has been called a ‘very rare’ nerve agent. Mr Skripal and his daughter are in a ‘very serious’ condition, the Home Secretary said this morning.
Police have not confirmed where they were poisoned or how, but detectives are said to be working on the theory all three came in to contact with the nerve agent at Mr Skipal’s suburban home.
A source close to the investigation told MailOnline: ‘Officers now believe Nick Bailey was one of the first to visit Mr Skripal’s home and enter the premises after the poisoning incident on Sunday. He became ill at some point afterwards and took himself to hospital.’
After visiting Sgt Bailey yesterday, Wiltshire Police’s acting chief constable Kier Pritchard said the hero policeman was ‘well and sat up’. But he said that ‘he is not the Nick that I know’ and added: ‘He’s very anxious, he’s very concerned.’
Another officer who went to see him said he was ‘deathly pale’, adding: ‘The chief constable was shocked by how pale Nick looks.’ A close colleague said: ‘He’s by no means out of the woods yet.’
Police have extended the cordon around double agent Sergei Skripal’s house in Salisbury, Wiltshire, to 150 yards. It is now believed the police officer seriously ill in hospital may have come into contact with a nerve agent at the property
Aerial photographs of Mr Skripal’s house reveal police have erected evidence tents around all three entrances to his home. Ambulances and police vans are on standby nearby in case any of the police team fall ill during the investigation
Home Secretary Amber Rudd (right) with Wiltshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Kier Pritchard (centre) and MP for Salisbury and South Wiltshire John Glen (left) visit the scene at the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury this morning
Ms Rudd visited the scene today but did not reveal any further details about the substance or how it was deployed
Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia are pictured before they were found in a ‘catatonic state’ on a bench in Salisbury on Sunday
Nick Bailey is in a serious condition in hospital after he fell ill during the investigation. It was suggested this morning that he came into contact with the nerve agent at Mr Skripal’s home. Police have not confirmed the claims
Scotland Yard said the military would be ‘removing vehicles and objects from Salisbury town centre’. Chemical weapons experts will meanwhile be working on the ‘trail’ of the nerve agent around the town.
This morning, Home Secretary Amber Rudd visited the park where Mr Skripal and his daughter were found in a ‘catatonic’ state on Sunday. She is planning to visit DS Bailey in hospital this afternoon.
Asked about the condition of Mr Skripal, his daughter and DS Nick Bailey, Ms Rudd said: ‘Still very serious for the two people who were indeed the subject of this outrageous attack and for the police officer, I understand it’s still serious, although he’s still conversing and engaging.’
She did not reveal any further details about the substance, how it was deployed, or who used it.
Visiting Salisbury, she said: ‘I understand people’s curiosity about all those questions, wanting to have answers and there will be a time to have those answers.
‘But the best way to get to them is to give the police the space they need to really go through the area carefully, to do their investigation and to make sure that they have all the support that they need.’
Investigators extended the cordon around Mr Skripal’s house in Salisbury, Wiltshire, to 150 yards as the political row intensifies over the alleged poison plot. Detectives in Hamzat suits were seen at the property yesterday and three forensic evidence tents have been set up outside.
Aerial photographs of the suburban house now at the centre of the probe reveal police have erected evidence tents around all three entrances to his home, with one in front of it and two in the back garden – one of which is next to a lane.
Pictures also revealed that Mr Skripal hung a Union Jack flag across a window at his home, suggesting he was a proud citizen of the country who took him in after his secret work for MI6.
Police last night confirmed 21 people – including Mr Skripal, his daughter, and Sgt Bailey – were treated in hospital in relation to the attack, after previously claiming the number was ‘fewer than ten’. It is not clear how many of the 21 are police officers, medical staff or ordinary members of the public.
Police and ambulance crews wearing full protective Hazmat suits were also pictured at the Ashley Wood Recovery Garage in Salisbury last night, where they were seen examining a maroon BMW believed to belong to Mr Skripal
Officers took the decision to extend the cordon around Mr Skripal’s Salisbury home on Wednesday where forensic experts are scouring the property for clues. It now extends for 150 yards around the cul-de-sac where he lives
Police have also sealed off the area around the graves of Mr Skripal’s wife Liudmila and son Alexander in Salisbury
Police in Hazmat suits returned to the scene where Mr Skripal and his daughter were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury
Crime scene: A police car patrols the edge of the police cordon around Mr Skripal’s home yesterday in Salisbury
The investigation into the double agent’s suspected assassination has continued with the sealing off of his Salisbury home
Investigators in Hamzat suits are pictured returning to the bench near the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury yesterday
A police cordon is pictured sealing off the grave of Mr Skripal’s late wife in Salisbury yesterday afternoon
Mr Skripal, who passed secrets to Britain while working for Russian intelligence, and his daughter Yulia are believed to have visited Zizzi restaurant and the Mill Pub in Salisbury before they were found unconscious on a bench near The Maltings shopping centre on Sunday afternoon.
It emerged last night police were called to reports of two ‘drunks acting strangely on a bench’, but were met by the pair slumped in a ‘catatonic state’.
Initial police investigations appeared to focus on them being poisoned while they were out, but yesterday’s police activity suggests they could have become infected beforehand.
One line of inquiry is that the nerve agent used against them was developed in a Russian laboratory before being transported by a would-be assassin in a sealed container to Britain.
Counter-terrorism officers believe Mr Skripal could have been infected hours before he showed symptoms. The agent used is not thought to be the widely-known Sarin, VX or Novichok but a substance described by Whitehall sources as ‘exotic’.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, ex-commander of the Army’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment, said: ‘This was quite clearly a very professional operation.
‘These things are made in big government laboratories. It reduces in toxicity over time so if it was made in Russia two weeks ago then by the time it was administered its effectiveness would be reduced significantly.’
Zizzi, the Mill pub, Mr Skripal’s house, his son and wife’s graves, part of the local hospital, the ambulance station of the vehicle which took him to the hospital and an office block next to Zizzi’s have all been taken over as part of the investigation. Mr Skripal is believed to have visited his wife’s grave as recently as March 1.
Police were also seen searching two vehicles, a maroon BMW at police recovery yard and a blue Mercedes people carrier believed to have been used to fetch Yulia from the airport a few days ago.
After visiting Sgt Bailey at Salisbury District Hospital’s intensive care unit, Mr Pritchard said 21 people were taken to hospital after the Skripals were found poisoned. Sources claim three other police officers were among the 21, but the identities of everyone else remain unknown.
A police spokesman told MailOnline Sgt Bailey fell ill ‘a short time after’ the incident unfolded. Speaking last night, Mr Pritchard said of the wider investigation: ‘Multiple people have been treated, around 21 people, including the man and the woman found on the bench.
‘A number of those have been through the hospital treatment process, they are having blood-tests, support and advice.’
The only people still in hospital are Mr Skripal, Yulia and Sgt Bailey. While the Detective Sergeant is sitting up and speaking, there are fears former intelligence officer Mr Skripal may die.
A source told The Times: ‘The feeling is that he is not going to make it out of this. I think it could be more positive (for Yulia). They are hopeful that she might be able to pull through.’
This photo was taken minutes after the Skripals were found, when police were still unaware of what they were dealing with
The pictures, taken by a nearby resident, show the immediate aftermath of the attack which has sparked a huge police probe
Officers examining the vehicle were decked out in full protective kit and appeared to be taking special precautionary measures, throwing away their protective equipment after use
Police forensic officers are pictured wearing gas masks at a car garage in Salisbury, Wiltshire, yesterday evening
Special precautionary measures were taken by the officers, who were examining the vehicle in the open
Sgt Bailey’s cousin, Andrew Bailey, 50, told the newspaper that the father of two had joined the police at 17 and was widely respected.
He said: ‘He’s pretty well decorated so I reckon he must be a good copper. He’s the most honest person I know… he didn’t hesitate to run to the help of those two poor people. His first instinct would have been to assist them.’
‘(His wife) Sarah will have been distraught by what’s happened, so it’s great news that he appears to be pulling through.’
Sources told MailOnline yesterday the three other emergency service workers rushed to hospital became contaminated when giving Mr Skripal and his daughter first aid.
Now the line of inquiry appears to be that Sgt Bailey was not a first responder and was instead part of the wider investigation, possibly becoming contaminated re-tracing the Skripals’ steps.
He was initially discharged from hospital after being admitted with minor symptoms but returned and was rushed to intensive care when his condition deteriorated.
A source told MailOnline: ‘There were four officers taken to hospital following Sunday’s incident, one of which was Nick Bailey.
‘The three others, who were quickly discharged, are believed to have given Mr Skripal and his daughter first aid.
‘Nick Bailey was originally thought to have been part of this team however as a detective sergeant, he would not have automatically attended the scene.
‘It’s possible he could have become ill after visiting another one of the sites of interest, which includes the restaurant, his home and the graveyard where his loved ones are buried.’
Yesterday, the graves of Mr Skripal’s son Alexander and his wife Liudmila were also taped off.
Mr Skripal’s 43-year-old son Alexander is reported to have died last year while on holiday in St Petersburg after being rushed to hospital with ‘liver failure’ – but a Russian news agency in the city said it had not been able to find any record of his death.
Mr Skripal’s wife Liudmila died in October 2012 at the age of 59. Her death certificate said she died from disseminated endometrial carcinoma – womb cancer – which she was diagnosed with in Russia.
Police and ambulance crews wearing full protective Hazmat suits were also pictured at the Ashley Wood Recovery Garage in Salisbury last night, where they were seen examining a maroon BMW, believed to belong to ex-Kremlin agent Mr Skripal.
Officers examining the vehicle were decked out in full protective kit and appeared to be taking special precautionary measures, throwing away their protective equipment after use.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Theresa May paid tribute to Sgt Bailey and the 20 others injured in the attack.
She said last night: ‘I would like to pay tribute to all of the emergency services in Salisbury – those who reacted to the initial call on Sunday and those who continue to respond to this appalling and reckless attack.
‘In particular, my thoughts are with Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey – one of the first responders – who remains in a serious condition in hospital.
‘We are all thinking of him, his family, friends and colleagues – and the two other victims – at what is an incredibly difficult time.
‘The events of Sunday are a stark reminder, if ever one was needed, of the dangerous situations our emergency services face and the dedication and courage they display every day in order to keep us safe.’
When Wiltshire Police’s Mr Pritchard emerged from Salisbury District Hospital yesterday afternoon, he also paid tribute to his colleague.
He said he was sitting up and speaking to his wife Sarah, 37, and mother Susan, 67, but was ‘very anxious’ and concerned.
Mr Pritchard said in a statement: ‘I have visited Nick in hospital this afternoon and I can confirm that he is conscious, talking and engaging with people.
‘Of course, he still remains in a serious, but stable, condition, but I am deeply relieved to have visited him and spoken with him in person. I have also met with Nick’s family and relayed our deep concern for their welfare.
‘We have all been deeply appreciative of the outpouring of support from staff, public and around the country – we are very grateful for this.
‘I would like to reassure you all that Nick is receiving medical intervention and care from highly specialist medical practitioners experienced in these matters.
‘Nick is a hugely popular member of staff and all our thoughts are with him. The welfare of all of my officers and staff is of paramount importance to me.’
Pictures emerged yesterday of Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia during a previous visit she made to Salisbury to see him
Sgt Bailey has been with the force since 2002 and in 2016 got a certificate of excellence for single-handedly putting a serial rapist behind bars.
The police officer trawled through and reopened a number of old cases, as well as investigating a series of fresh allegations against Arthur Bonner in what was described as a ‘complex and serious case’.
After Bonner was jailed for 14 years, Wiltshire Police’s then chief constable Mike Veale praised his dedication, hard work and outstanding professionalism.
His investigations into the rapist spanned two years. He said afterwards: ‘It’s a really nice feeling. It was a very long, emotionally draining investigation, for the families as well.
‘It was very difficult not to get their hopes up, but we got justice in the end. You live and breathe that type of investigation for a long time.
‘It’s on your mind constantly, and it’s very difficult to switch off, it’s such a big thing. It affects so many people in such a significant way.
‘To see a full trial go through and to see those 12 members of the public as the jury listen to the evidence you have presented to the court and to see them say ‘we believe he is guilty’ is a really exhilarating feeling.’
New pictures emerged yesterday of the immediate aftermath of the attack and were taken at the Maltings shopping precinct in Salisbury only two minutes after the Skripals were airlifted to hospital.
The photos were taken by writer Thom Belk, 30, who heard sirens and the air ambulance.
Mr Belk, of Salisbury, said: ‘I went to see what was going on just as the air ambulance was taking off and the land ambulance was leaving.
‘These pictures are the immediate aftermath of what had happened – I don’t think anyone there really had a clue what was going on. The police officer is very close to the area where they were taken ill.
‘The officers had actually lifted part of the cordon and at one point there were two members of the public walking very near to the bench and the bag as well. They started off with quite a big cordon, but did begin to take some of it down.’
It remains unclear who is responsible for poisoning the pair, but the attack has stoked tensions between Britain and Russia amid suspicions of state responsibility.
Former British ambassador to Russia Sir Andrew Wood said that the ‘assassination attempt’ was more serious given a policeman was among the injured.
Defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, told GMB yesterday: ‘Russia is becoming an ever-increasing threat. Russia is changing the way they fight and raise the level of conflict. We have to change the way we deal with it.’
A photo of the aftermath shows a red object on the floor (circled in top photo). A CCTV believed to show Mr Skripal and his daughter minutes before the attack includes a red bag
The former Russia spy appears to have settled into life in Britain. He is pictured in a local pub
The police man in hospital was visited by Wiltshire’s temporary Chief Constable Kier Pritchard today. Mr Pritchard as the man’s family were with him and praised his courage
Putin’s nerve agent lab: Is THIS the place where Russian scientists concocted the deadly nerve agent which has left spy fighting for life?
A lab run by the Russian security services is among just a handful of facilities which could make a ‘very rare’ nerve agent which poisoned a Russian spy, it was claimed today.
The huge police team now investigating the attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal are hoping the chemical make-up of the toxin used will show where it was manufactured.
Chemical weapons experts say the sarin or sarin-like nerve agent used in the attack was probably made in a state-run laboratory somewhere in the world.
One of the few labs capable of producing a nerve agent like that used in the attack on a Russian double agent in the UK is in Russia’s foreign intelligence headquarters, it was claimed today
Police forensic officers in gas masks at a car garage where Mr Skripal’s car is believed to have been taken after it was overparked following his attack
One of the labs in the frame is the Yasenevo facility run by Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR, according to The Sun.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, ex-commander of the Army’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment, told the Mail: ‘This was quite clearly a very professional operation.
‘These things are made in big government laboratories. It reduces in toxicity over time so if it was made in Russia two weeks ago then by the time it was administered its effectiveness would be reduced significantly.’
He added: ‘Nerve agents cannot be cooked up in a shed. An agent needs to be made in a well-funded laboratory by a highly-trained team of scientists.’
The Home Secretary has meanwhile described the chemical as ‘very rare’.
Police in Hazmat suits gathered evidence at the bench where the Russians were found ‘catatonic’ on Sunday afternoon
Detectives are understood to be moving away from the theory that the nerve agent was sprayed directly at Skripal, a source told MailOnline.
They are instead believed to be focusing more on the possibility that poison was added to his food or drink at some point before he collapsed.
It is hoped the composition of the substance will help investigators work out where the agent was manufactured.
Experts say the clear liquids can be made at only ‘a few laboratories in the world’, mostly government-controlled.
The first modern nerve agents, including sarin, which was released by a Japanese doomsday cult onto the Tokyo subway in 1995, were first devised by the Germans during World War II.
A new generation of the chemical weapons, including VX, were later invented by the British during the Cold War. VX is up to 150 times more deadly than sarin.
Police in protective suits and gas masks working near Salisbury earlier this week. Evidence is being tested at Porton Down defence labs
The fact that investigators appear to have ruled out those two suggests the nerve agent used last weekend could be a so-called ‘fourth generation’ agent.
They were developed by the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s and are said to be even more toxic than VX, which has been classed as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN.
These Novichoks, meaning ‘newcomer’ in Russian, are said to be binary weapons, which mean they contain two harmless chemicals which only become toxic when mixed together in an aerosol or missile. This makes them easier to make, store and transport safely, but may also render conventional anecdotes ineffective.
The Met Police’s Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the head of counter-terrorism policing, revealed on Wednesday that the incident was being treated as attempted murder and the pair had been ‘targeted specifically’.
He declined to specify the nerve agent or how it was administered.
He said: ‘Having established that a nerve agent was the cause of the symptoms, leading us to treat this as attempted murder, I can also confirm that we believe the two people who originally became unwell were targeted specifically.
‘Our role now of course is to establish who is behind this and why they carried out this act.’
Hundreds of detectives, forensic officers and analysts are working on the case, which has drawn comparisons to the poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko on British soil in 2006.
Counter-terror police are working to unravel what is now feared to be a sophisticated chemical weapon plot targeting Sergei Skripal (left), 66, and his daughter Yulia (right), 33
A large tent has been put up in the park where Skripal and his daughter were found
A smaller tent has been put up over the bench where the father and daughter were found
It is thought investigators have identified the nerve agent used but have not announced it
Police remain at the restaurant and pub at the centre of the attempted murder probe
The Kremlin has not commented on the nerve gas development. Russia president Vladimir Putin appeared untroubled as he toured a cake factory in the Samara region yesterday
Nerve agents, which are chemical weapons, have been used in assassinations and attacks in war zones in recent years.
Kim Jong Un’s half-brother Kim Jong Nam was killed at an international airport in Malaysia last year in an attack using a nerve agent known as VX.
Another well-known nerve agent, sarin gas, killed more than 90 people in a rebel-held area in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, drawing international condemnation of the Bashar Assad regime.
Access to such toxins are tightly regulated, meaning the Salisbury plot would have taken considerable planning to execute.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commanding officer of Britain’s Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, told the Times: ‘This is not the stuff you can knock up in your back shed.
‘It is quite challenging to make. The inference is that this has probably come from a major laboratory, probably state-run.’
Mr Rowley reiterated his appeal for anyone who was in Salisbury city centre on Sunday to come forward to help with the ‘missing pieces’ in the case.
Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer, said the incident posed a ‘low risk’ to the public and advised that all the sites the pair were known to have visited had been ‘secured’.
Public Health England later confirmed it had contacted all first responders who had attended the scene.
Russia have denied responsibility for the attack, which comes seven years after Mr Skripal was released from the country as part of a spy swap with the US.
He had been convicted in his home country in 2006 for passing state secrets to MI6.
The investigation has triggered a diplomatic row and prompted crisis talks in Whitehall but Home Secretary Amber Rudd said police must respond to ‘evidence, not to rumour’.
It comes as police extended the cordons in Salisbury city centre, and also sealed off part of a business park in nearby Amesbury.
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in nearby Porton Down, which has state-of-the-art equipment to look for trace amounts of substances, is believed to have been involved in examining the substance.
Was poisoning in retaliation to Trump ‘dirty dossier’? Kremlin double agent ‘was close to consultant employed by former MI6 spy Christopher Steele’
The Russian double agent attacked with a nerve agent in Salisbury was close to a consultant who worked with the firm of former British spy Christopher Steele, it was reported yesterday.
Sergei Skripal, who is fighting for his life in hospital after the incident on Sunday, is said to have been close to an unnamed intelligence expert who carried out work for independent security firm Orbis Business Intelligence.
Orbis was founded by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who was behind a notorious and controversial dossier on Donald Trump , which claimed Moscow had compromising information on the US President.
Russian double agent Sergei Skripal (left) was close to a consultant who had worked for Orbis Business Intelligence, the firm of former British spy Christopher Steele (right), it was reported
Police remain in the park in Salisbury where Mr Skripal and has daughter were found after being attacked with a powerful nerve agent on Sunday
Mr Skripal and the Orbis consultant had become close and were both based in the south of England, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The paper suggested that Skripal’s association with Orbis and, indirectly, the Trump dossier could have been a motivation behind the attack on him.
There are conflicting reports about whether Skripal was retired from the world of espionage.
From his time in Russia’s military intelligence apparatus, he would have excellent knowledge of the country’s tactics and potential contacts.
The Times reported this week that he was still giving lectures on KGB tactics.
And another Russian exile, Valery Morozov, told Channel 4 News last night that Skripal remained in contact with military intelligence officers at the Russian Embassy.
A spokesman for the Russian Embassy said they are not aware of communication between Skripal and staff.
Skripal is a former colonel in Russian military intelligence and was responsible for unmasking dozens of Russian secret agents undercover in Europe.
Russian exile Valery Morozov told Channel 4 News he met Sergei Skripal several times and claims he was in regular contact with military intelligence officers at the Russian Embassy
Yulia Skripal is understood to be a businesswoman who has worked for Nike and Pepsico
In 2006, he was sentenced to 13 years in a Russian labour camp after being convicted of passing invaluable Russian secrets to the UK.
In July 2010, he was one of four spies exchanged for ten Russian agents deported from the US in an historic swap involving red-headed ‘femme fatale’ Anna Chapman.
Since then, he has moved to Salisbury and lived an apparently unremarkable life in Wiltshire cathedral city, joining a £10-a-year Railway Social Club, drinking in local pubs and spending a reported £40-a-week on lottery scratchcards.
Police yesterday revealed he and his daughter Yulia, who was visiting from Moscow, were attacked with a nerve agent on Sunday. Both remain in the critical condition.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the head of counter-terrorism policing, revealed on Wednesday that the incident was being treated as attempted murder and the pair had been ‘targeted specifically’.
He declined to specify the nerve agent or how it was administered.
He said: ‘Having established that a nerve agent was the cause of the symptoms, leading us to treat this as attempted murder, I can also confirm that we believe the two people who originally became unwell were targeted specifically.
‘Our role now of course is to establish who is behind this and why they carried out this act.’
Hundreds of detectives, forensic officers and analysts are working on the case, which has drawn comparisons to the poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko on British soil in 2006.