Amesbury nerve agent attack: Officer ‘given all clear’ after novichok scare

A police officer treated in connection with the Amesbury nerve agent attack has been given the all clear.

The officer went to Great Western Hospital in Swindon on Saturday evening for “medical advice”, before being transferred to Salisbury District Hospital for “appropriate specialist tests”.

In a tweet, Wiltshire Police said the police constable has now been assessed and given the all clear.

Salisbury is 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 Salisbury District Hospital after exposure to the nerve agent novichok by “handling a contaminated item”, Scotland Yard said.

In a statement about the police officer, a spokesperson said: “Salisbury District Hospital has seen a number of members of the public who have come to the hospital with health concerns since this incident started and none have required any treatment.

“We would like to reiterate the advice from Public Health England that the risk to the wider public remains low.”

Wiltshire Police said the police officer’s admission to Salisbury District Hospital was “precautionary”.

The hospital is where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia, were treated after being poisoned by novichok in March.

Forensic investigators are continuing to comb for clues in Wiltshire after the latest novichok poisoning.

On Friday, investigators wearing hazmat suits looked for evidence at the John Baker House assisted-living accommodation in Salisbury, where Ms Sturgess, a mother of three, was staying.

They are also searching other sites visited by the pair before they were taken to hospital.

Detectives have said they expect their work in the county will take “weeks and months to complete”.

Police have been unable to locate the source of the contamination and have warned that they cannot rule out more people falling ill.

Salisbury MP John Glen has told Sky News it is highly likely the source of the second novichok poisoning is “debris” from the first attack in March, which left former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia seriously ill.

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

Mr Rowley has been described as having foraged for goods to fix and sell, and is known to have collected discarded cigarettes.

The Metropolitan Police said approximately 100 counter-terror officers are working round the clock alongside Wiltshire Police, adding: “The focus of the investigation remains identifying the source of the contamination as quickly as possible.”

Detectives say they have spoken to “several key witnesses” and are trawling through more than 1,300 hours of CCTV footage.

(c) Sky News 2018: Amesbury nerve agent attack: Officer ‘given all clear’ after novichok scare