Overview
- Inquiry chair Lord Anthony Hughes concluded beyond reasonable doubt that GRU operatives using the aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, with a third operative Sergey Fedotov, carried out the 2018 operation under instructions.
- The report described the attack as an intended public demonstration of Russian power and found it was authorised at the highest level by President Vladimir Putin.
- Novichok was brought to Salisbury in a Nina Ricci perfume bottle that was later discarded and sprayed by Dawn Sturgess, whose condition was deemed unsurvivable despite appropriate medical care.
- While identifying failings in the management of Sergei Skripal’s security, the inquiry said additional measures such as CCTV would likely not have prevented a professionally mounted nerve‑agent attack.
- The suspects remain in Russia and have not been arrested, and Sturgess’s family criticised the lack of public recommendations, even as the UK imposed new sanctions and diplomatic censure.