Salisbury Novichok poisonings timeline: How Russian spy incident unfolded in 2018
Seven years after four people in the city of Salisbury were poisoned by the Russian nerve agent Novichok, the long-awaited report into the incident will finally be published.
Retired High Court judge Lord Hughes of Ombersley is set to deliver his findings into the death of Dawn Sturgess, as well as the poisonings of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia, and police officer Nick Bailey.
An international arrest warrant has been issued for three Russians thought to have been involved in the attack, but it seems unlikely that they will be prosecuted as the Russian constitution does not allow the extradition of citizens.
Here is the timeline of events:
March 2, 2018
3pm: The men, traveling with passports in the names of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, arrive at Gatwick Airport by flying from Moscow with Aeroflot flight SU2588.
17.40: The suspects arrive at Victoria railway station after traveling by train towards central London.
18:00-19:00: After traveling on London public transport, the men in the Waterloo station area then head to the City Stay Hotel on Bow Road in east London.
March 3
11.45: The suspects return to Waterloo station after taking the subway from the hotel.
14.25: Suspects arrive in Salisbury by train on a suspicious expedition. Neil Basu, who led the 2018 investigation into the Salisbury poisonings, said: “We assess that this trip was for reconnaissance purposes in the Salisbury area and we do not believe there is any risk from members of the public from their actions on this day.”
14.40: Yulia Skripal arrived at London Heathrow airport from Russia to visit her father.
16.10: The suspects left Salisbury by train and returned to Bow at 20.05.
4 March
8.05: The suspects repeat the journey from Bow to Waterloo station and then on to Salisbury.
11.58: The suspects were captured “minutes before the attack” on security cameras near Skripal’s home in Wilton Road, Salisbury.
13.30: Mr Skripal’s car was seen driving towards Salisbury city centre; she and her daughter arrived in the Sainsbury’s car park 10 minutes later.
16.15: Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury city centre.
19.28: The suspects go through passport control at London Heathrow Airport.
March 5
The major incident was announced after staff at Salisbury District Hospital sent samples for testing while Mr Skripal, his daughter and detective sergeant Nick Bailey were being treated.
March 7
Police said a nerve agent was used to poison the couple and the incident is being treated as attempted murder.
March 8
Wiltshire Police officer DS Bailey remains seriously ill in hospital, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said.
March 12
Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons that the nerve agent novichok was of Russian origin and the government had concluded Russia was “most likely” responsible for the poisoning.
March 14
Mrs May told MPs that Britain would deport 23 Russian diplomats, describing the poisoning as “an unlawful use of force by the Russian state against Britain”.
March 22
DS Bailey was discharged from hospital but said life “will probably never be the same”.
March 26
Britain’s allies announced the repatriation of more than 100 Russian agents from 22 countries in what Mrs May described as “the largest mass expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history”.
10 April
Ms Skripal was discharged from hospital, and her father followed just over a month later.
30 June
Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley fell ill at a flat in Muggleton Road, Amesbury, eight miles from Salisbury, and were taken to hospital.
4th of July
Police declared a “major incident” after revealing Ms Sturgess and Mr Rowley had been exposed to an “unknown substance”, later confirmed to be novichok.
8 July
Miss Sturgess dies in hospital and a murder investigation is launched.
10 July
Mr Rowley regained consciousness and was discharged from hospital later that month.
September 4
The independent investigator, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, has confirmed that the toxic chemical that killed Ms Sturgess was the same nerve agent that poisoned the Skripals.
5 September
Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service say there is enough evidence to charge two Russians, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, with crimes including conspiracy to murder. Petrov’s real identity is believed to be Alexander Mishkin, who works as a doctor in the Russian military intelligence service GRU, while Boshirov’s real identity is believed to be Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga.
September 12
Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was “nothing criminal” about Petrov and Boshirov. Downing Street insists they were GRU officers “using a devastatingly toxic, illegal chemical weapon on our nation’s streets”.
September 13
Petrov and Boshirov give an interview to Russian state-backed news channel RT, where they claim they are tourists visiting Salisbury.
March 1, 2019
The Ministry of Defense has announced that Salisbury will be declared novichok-free after almost a year of military clearance across 12 sites.
June 2020
BBC docudrama Salisbury Poisonings It airs on three consecutive nights. Its first episode was reported to have been watched by more than 7 million viewers, making it the biggest UK television premiere of the year.
September 2021
Investigators say they have enough evidence to charge a third party in the poisonings: Russian spy Denis Sergeev, also known as Sergey Fedotov.
14 October 2024
The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry begins public hearings in Salisbury and then continues in London.
2 December
The hearings are over.
December 4, 2025
Lord Hughes publishes his report.
