Britain to demolish home of poisoned former Russian Double Agent

Military Experts plan to demolish the British home of Former Russian Double Agent Sergei Skripal, who was poisoned with a nerve agent in March, Sources said on Tuesday.

The experts will remove the roof before dismantling the house inside a sealed structure over the next four months.

Britain has blamed Russian government agents for the attack that poisoned Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the southern English city of Salisbury in Wiltshire.

Several public sites visited by the Skripals were also sealed off but later reopened.

Alistair Cunningham, head of a recovery coordinating group for Wiltshire County Council, said the final two sites for decontamination were Skripal’s house and another residential site in nearby Amesbury that was used by a local couple who were accidentally poisoned.

Decontamination work at the sites was suspended in December for the Christmas holiday, Cunningham said in a statement.

“We are in regular contact with the residents and they are aware that the clean-up recommenced on Monday,’’ he said.

“It has been a thorough and complicated process, while there is still work to be undertaken, the end is in sight, which I’m sure everyone will welcome.’’

The Skripals survived the nerve-agent attack but their medical conditions remain unclear.

The local couples were poisoned in June after they found a perfume bottle that had apparently been used to hold the Novichok-type nerve agent.

Dawn Sturgess died while Charlie Rowley was released from hospital in July but still suffers from health problems linked to the poisoning.

(dpa/NAN)