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Police officers prepare equipment as OPCW inspectors arrive in Salisbury.
Police officers prepare equipment as OPCW inspectors arrive in Salisbury. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Police officers prepare equipment as OPCW inspectors arrive in Salisbury. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Chemical weapons inspectors begin work at scene of Salisbury attack

This article is more than 6 years old

OPCW team investigates use of nerve agent novichok in attempted murders of Sergei and Yulia Skripal

Inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have begun working at the scene of the nerve agent attack on the Skripals.

A team started work on Wednesday at the Mill pub in Salisbury, which the former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, visited with his daughter, Yulia, before they collapsed on 4 March.

The inspectors arrived in unmarked vehicles and street clothes before disappearing behind metal police barriers at the back of the pub. Ambulance incident support vehicles arrived and stood by.

Theresa May has asked OPCW to investigate the use of the nerve agent novichok in the attempted murder of the Skripals.

The OPCW chief, Ahmet Üzümcü, said it would take two to three weeks to complete laboratory analysis of samples. He said they would be sent to the organisation’s main laboratory in The Hague and then to designated labs for analysis.

Elsewhere, concerns that the city’s trade is being badly hit by the attack on the Skripals has prompted Wiltshire council to make its car parks free from Saturday.

Baroness Scott, the leader of the council, said: “We know people are rightly concerned about Salisbury, and it is important we encourage residents and visitors to enjoy our beautiful and historic city and to promote that it is very much business as usual.

“We are working diligently with local and national agencies and the local MP, John Glen, to support the local community and businesses. We recognise that providing free car parking will help to increase the number of visitors and shopper footfall in the city centre. We will be doing everything we can to assist and support Salisbury through this extraordinary situation.”

Visitor numbers at Salisbury cathedral are down this month by more than a third compared with last year Jane Morgan, director of communications and development said: “These are provisional figures and cover the periods of disruption due to snow and ice, as well as the recent incident.

“The downturn hasn’t taken us by surprise. Similar falls have been seen by colleagues at cathedrals in London when there have been major incidents there.

“The message that we do need to get out there is that whilst a small part of the city has been affected, the city centre and the cathedral, which is at some distance from the sites under investigation, are both functioning normally.”

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was monitoring wildlife in Salisbury following concern that a swan had died on the river Avon.

A spokesperson said: “Wildlife in the area has been closely monitored and there have been no unusual reported deaths. No wildlife has been removed from the area. While a dead swan was found some distance from Salisbury, we can confirm this was not connected to the incident. We are clear the risk to the public remains low.”

Public Health England has also reassured the people of Salisbury that the nerve agent is unlikely to have been carried around the area by rats.

NHS England said the Skripals remained in critical but stable condition in intensive care. The police officer who was injured, Det Sgt Nick Bailey, is conscious and in a stable condition – but is no longer critical. Wiltshire police refused to comment on a suggestion that Bailey is expected to leave hospital soon.

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