A former police officer poisoned in the Salisbury Novichok attack has described the “nightmarish hallucinations” he experienced shortly after being exposed to the nerve agent, including seeing “pure heat and fire” near his eyes “tsunami” scene.
Nick Bailey was affected after he smeared nerve agent on the door handle of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in March 2018.
Giving evidence to the Dawn Sturgess inquiry on Thursday, the former Wiltshire police officer detailed the symptoms he experienced shortly after visiting the Skripals.
He told how he first became aware of the incident. “I remember generating and passing in a log that reported two unidentified individuals semi-conscious or unconscious on a bench.
“It just piqued my interest because it was an unusual log.”
Initially, Bailey knew nothing about Skripal’s background and suspected that the incident was drug-related. Uniformed police officers were dispatched to Skripal’s home and began talking to a neighbor who had a key to the house.
Around this time, Bailey learned of Skripal’s previous espionage contacts. “One of my teams Googled Sergey Skripal’s name,” he said. “I distinctly remember her saying, ‘Sarge, you need to come over and take a look at this.'” He walked over to take a look.
He saw newspaper headlines saying Skripal was a former Russian spy who had been released as part of an international spy swap. This prompted Bailey and his team to contact the officer and prevent them and neighbors from entering Skripal’s home.
Soon after, Bailey said, a colleague contacted the control room and said: “A Russian spy has been poisoned.”
Bailey arrived at Skripal’s home the next day, wearing a white forensic suit, disposable gloves, shoe covers and a mask over his clothes. He said he wasn’t sure if he had received personal protective equipment training.
He was the first to enter the property using a key provided by Skripal’s neighbor. He told investigators he only remembered touching light switches, doorknobs and documents inside the house.
After the visit, he went to the hospital where the Skripals were being treated. After taking blood and urine samples, he returned to Burn Hill Police Station. At this point, the first symptoms begin to appear.
“I remember going to the bathroom and it was like little pins and needles in my eyes,” he said. “I put that down to fatigue and it was a stressful transition.”
After get off work, he went to the emergency room but was cleared and sent home. He said his symptoms worsened overnight and he felt “very hot” and sweated.
“I went downstairs around five o’clock in the morning because I was a little scared and my vision was impaired.
“As soon as I turned on the light everything was clearly visible and it was shaking instead of looking around smoothly. It was almost all in frame – it was horrible.
He added: “I had nightmarish hallucinations, like there was pure heat and fire next to my eyes, as if you could get close enough to the surface of the sun. It was like a tsunami of pure heat and fire. That It’s terrible.
He returned to the emergency room where a consultant told him he had a nerve agent in his system. He stayed in the hospital for two and a half weeks.
When investigating lawyer Francesca Whitelaw KC asked: “Is it fair to say that the poisoning had a very significant impact on you mentally and physically?”
The investigation continues.
