Home Secretary Amber Rudd in Salisbury

9 March 2018

Salisbury Journal

AMBER Rudd has visited a police officer currently in hospital after a nerve agent attack.

The Home Secretary visited Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey in Salisbury District Hospital this morning.

The Wiltshire Police officer is in a serious condition after coming into contact with a nerve agent on Sunday.

Ms Rudd also attended the scene in Salisbury where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found critically ill after exposure to a nerve agent.

The Home Secretary visited the police cordon in the Maltings, where she talked with Wiltshire Police temporary chief constable Kier Pritchard, the local Conservative MP John Glen and business owners.

"There has got to be something here that at least is worth looking at."

Ms Rudd 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."

Ms Rudd added: "At the moment our priority is going to be the incident, which is why I'm here in Salisbury today, making sure that everybody's protected around the incident, making sure the emergency services have had the support that they need and will continue to get it.

"In terms of further options, that will have to wait until we're absolutely clear what the consequences could be and what the actual source of this nerve agent has been."

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."

Ms Rudd praised the emergency services after she met with first responders at Salisbury Guildhall.   "They reacted with the sort of professionalism, and indeed compassion, that we would hope our emergency services do and I'm in awe of their sympathetic approach and their professionalism as they engage with these people," she said.   "They have all said to me they wouldn't have done anything differently.   "We are really lucky with our emergency services."