Lord Hughes added: “The conduct of Petrov and Boshirov, their GRU superiors, and those who authorised the mission, up to and including, as I have found, President Putin, was astonishingly reckless. They, and only they, bear moral responsibility for Dawn’s death.”
However, the judge found that the level of risk against Skripal had not been severe enough to justify forcing him to adopt a false identity before the poisoning attack on him.
He concluded that even though Skripal had not changed his name and was living openly in the Wiltshire city it would have been unreasonable to expect him to abandon “any form of normal life”.
Russian intelligence agency sanctioned
After the report, the Foreign Office said Russian military intelligence agency the GRU had been sanctioned.
Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, has also called for the Russian ambassador to the UK to be summoned to the Foreign Office to respond to the finding.
Sir Keir Starmer said: “The Salisbury poisonings shocked the nation and today’s findings are a grave reminder of the Kremlin’s disregard for innocent lives. Dawn’s needless death was a tragedy and will forever be a reminder of Russia’s reckless aggression. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones.”
The £8.3m public inquiry makes no substantial criticism of the British secret intelligence services or the police.
Lord Hughes states in his report that it was unlikely the “brazen and reckless” Novichok attack could have been avoided by “additional security measures”, such as changing Skripal’s name, severing any links with his family and “abandoning any form of normal life”.
