Ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with nerve agent via his home’s FRONT DOOR, police believe
POLICE believe a former Russia spy was poisoned when a military grade nerve agent was left at his front door.
Sergei Skripal remains in a critical condition in hospital alongside his daughter Yulia after the pair were found gravely ill while out in Salisbury earlier this month.
Traces of nerve agent have also been found at a number of other scenes, but at lower concentrations.
But Counter-terrorism officers say the highest concentration of nerve agent has been found at the front door of Sergei Skripal’s home address.
The father-daughter duo were found slumped on a bench in a "catatonic state" on March 5 and anti-terror police are investigating how the poisoning was carried out.
Russia has denied that their special services were involved and a diplomatic spat is ongoing between the UK and the Russian Federation.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing said: “At this point in our investigation, we believe the Skripals first came into contact with the nerve agent from their front door.
“We are therefore focusing much of our efforts in and around their address.
“Those living in the Skripals’ neighbourhood can expect to see officers carrying out searches as part of this but I want to reassure them that the risk remains low and our searches are precautionary.
“I’d also like to thank the local community for their continued support and understanding.
“The unique circumstances of this investigation means that officers are likely be in the area for several weeks and months.”
It recently emerged that Yulia Skripal regained consciousness for a short while in hospital after the Novichok attack but doctors fear she and her father may never “regain capacity”.
Doctors say she was awake briefly but unable to communicate in a “meaningful way”.
The revelations came as investigators were given permission to take blood samples from the pair to test for the highly potent nerve agent.
These samples have now been handed to the international Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for testing.
Skripal and Yulia, 33, were found slumped on a bench in a catatonic state and anti-terror police investigated CCTV believed to show the father and daughter before the poisoning.
Cops have estimated timeline of the pair's movements, revealing that they had not been seen between 9.15am and 1.30pm on March 4.
Novichok - the Russian for newcomer or newbie - is the name for a series of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 80s.
They are said to be the deadliest nerve agents ever created and reported to be five times more potent than the notorious VX gas.
The nerve agent is made up of two relatively harmless materials which become fatal when mixed together, making it easier to transport under the radar.
Novichok agents are dispersed as an ultra-fine powder rather than vapour, and causes muscles to contract involuntarily.
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The victim's heart and diaphragm are unable to function properly after coming into contact with the nerve agent, leading to respiratory and cardiac arrest.
Those affected usually die from total heart failure or suffocation as copious fluid secretions fill their lungs.
But even if they don't die, the substance can also cause permanent nerve damage, leaving victims permanently disabled, Russian scientists have said.
The Sun on Sunday revealed that Yulia’s boyfriend was a Russian secret service agent and that she had worked in the US Embassy in Moscow.
The revelation came days after Scotland Yard announced a murder investigation into the death of Putin enemy Nikolai Glushkov, found strangled in his South London home.
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