Dawn Sturgess Inquiry begins

The Public Inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess began on Monday 14 October 2024. It is sitting before Lord Hughes and will last for about 7 weeks. Dawn died from Novichok poisoning in 2018. The Inquiry is looking into the circumstances of her death, which also encompass the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, a few months earlier, by Novichok. The case began with an inquest into Dawn Sturgess’ death. The Coroner decided the scope of the inquest would be relatively limited. Dawn’s family brought a claim for judicial review to challenge that decision, which was successful. This led to Baroness Hallett replacing the original Coroner, who was subsequently replaced by Lord Hughes. The inquest was also converted into a public inquiry, because there was relevant secret information.

Dawn’s family and partner are represented by Adam Straw KC, alongside Michael Mansfield KC and Jesse Nicholls, instructed by Birnberg Peirce.

Media includes: Independent, Sky and BBC.