A former Russian spy is fighting for his life after 'being poisoned' outside a UK shopping centre.

Colonel Sergei Skripal, 66, is in critical condition after being found unconscious on a bench outside a Greggs and Superdrug in The Maltings, Salisbury, Wiltshire, by a passerby on Sunday afternoon.

He was discovered alongside a 33-year-old unnamed woman, who was known to Mr Skripal.

The pair are currently in intensive care at Salisbury Hospital under supervision of experts from Public Health England's Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards.

The ex-spy was granted refuge in the UK eight years ago after he was one of four prisoners included in a spy swap between the United States and Russia.

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A retired Russian military intelligence colonel, he had been sentenced to 13 years after being accused of spying for Britain and passing identities of secret agents to MI6.

At the time of his trial in 2006 prosecutors said he had been cooperating with the British secret service MI6 since the 1990s.

He was later convicted of "high treason in the form of espionage" but later pardoned and flew to Britain where he led a quiet life in Wiltshire.

An eyewitness who saw Mr Skripal, alongside a younger woman in The Maltings shopping precinct, said the pair looked "so out of it".

At a press conference on Monday evening police said that it was not a counter terrorism incident.

A witness described finding the unconscious on Saturday.

Freya Church told the BBC: "I had just finished training at my work and on the right hand side on a bench there was a couple, a younger girl and older guy.

"She looked like she was leaning on him, kind of passed out maybe. He was doing some strange hand movements looking up to the sky.

"I felt anxious, I felt like I should step in but they looked so out of it I wasn't sure I could have helped, so I just left them. They looked like they'd been taking something so strong."

Earlier today Salisbury Hospital announced it has shut its A&E and declared a "major incident" involving up to 10 casualties after two people who may have been exposed to the powerful opiate fentanyl were left in a critical condition.

The substance has not been formally identified by Public Health England.

Firefighters were called to the hospital in Wiltshire to decontaminate an area outside the A&E department.

Emergency personnel were wearing full-body hazardous materials protective suits at the scene, a green tent was set up and an incident response unit was on site.

It is understood that fewer than 10 people were involved in the incident - mainly members of the public - and there were no fatalities.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service were called to the hospital on Monday morning to decontaminate the area outside the A&E department.

In scenes that could be straight out of a spy novel, Colonel Skripal was recruited by MI6 in the mid-Nineties during an foreign assignment in an unnamed country.

After being recruited he was paid in cash by MI6 handlers for details of Russian intelligence operartions.

The information reportedly included dates and locations of Russian agents' clandestine meetings with their Kremlin handlers in the UK - allowing British intelligence to monitor the exchanges and break up spy rings.

He was returned to the UK as part of a spy swap which saw deep cover agent Anna Chapman returned to Moscow.

Chapman, a joint British and Russian citizen, was sent back to Russia as part of the deal which secured Mr Skripal's release.

Another Russian released to the west in the spy exchange was Dr Igor Sutyagin, a expert in arms control.

Dr Sutayagin was jailed in Russia for allegations he had passed information to a British company. After his release he took a post at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London and is believed to still be resident in the UK.

Salisbury District Hospital tweeted: "Salisbury NHS is currently dealing with a major incident involving a small number of casualties, with a multi-agency response.

"We are not asking additional staff to come to site unless contacted directly."

The hospital added: "We are advising patients to attend for their scheduled appointments unless they too have been contacted directly and asked not to.

"We are asking staff who are due to work today to come to work as normal."

It advised on its website: "Please do not attend the Emergency Department (A&E) unless extremely urgent."

Wiltshire Police said it is suspected two people were exposed to an unknown substance in Salisbury on Sunday.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden said: "Yesterday afternoon, at approximately 4.15pm, Wiltshire Police received a call from a member of the public who was concerned for the welfare of two people.

"The two people - a man aged in his 60s, and a woman aged in her 30s - were found unconscious on a bench in The Maltings in Salisbury.

"The pair, who we believe are known to each other, did not have any visible injuries and were taken to Salisbury District Hospital. They are currently being treated for suspected exposure to an unknown substance. Both are currently in a critical condition in intensive care.

"Because we are still at the very early stages of the investigation, we are unable to ascertain whether or not a crime has taken place." </s> A man in hospital after he was believed to have been exposed to an unknown substance is a former Russian spy, it is understood.

The BBC reported Sergei Skripal, 66, is critically ill along with a woman, believed to be known to him, after they were found unconscious on a bench in a shopping centre in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Skripal was convicted of passing state secrets to Britain in 2006 before being given refuge in the UK as part of a spy swap.

The former colonel in the Russian military intelligence, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2006, was among four other convicts who were given pardons and one of two sent to Britain in 2010 in a deal that was said at the time to be the largest spy swap since the Cold War.

Wiltshire Police said because the investigation was in the early stages officers are “unable to ascertain” whether the pair have been victims of a crime and have reassured people there is no risk to the wider public.

A major incident has been declared at Salisbury District Hospital but patients have been advised to attend appointments as normal unless advised otherwise.

Officers were called to The Maltings by a member of the public on Sunday shortly after 4pm.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden said: “The pair, who we believe are known to each other, did not have any visible injuries and were taken to Salisbury District Hospital.

“They are currently being treated for suspected exposure to an unknown substance. Both are currently in a critical condition in intensive care.

“Because we are still at the very early stages of the investigation, we are unable to ascertain whether or not a crime has taken place.”

The force said a number of areas in Salisbury had been cordoned off in relation to their investigation.

A spokesman for Public Health England (PHE) said anyone exposed to the unknown substance had been decontaminated “as is standard practice in situations like this”.

He added: “Scientists from PHE’s Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, will continue to assist the response and review information as it becomes available.”
• READ MORE: Pair remain critical after suspected exposure to ‘unknown substance’ </s> Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, who was exposed to a nerve agent along with his daughter, has been discharged from hospital.

Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia Skripal, 33, were admitted to Salisbury District Hospital along with Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey after being exposed to the novichok agent on March 4.

The hospital confirmed on Friday that all three patients had now been discharged.

Treatment of such patients involves “stabilising them, keeping them alive until their bodies could produce more enzymes to replace those that had been poisoned”, it said.

Lorna Wilkinson, director of nursing at the hospital, said: “We have been able to discharge Sergei Skripal.

“This is an important stage in his recovery, which will now take place away from the hospital.

“Treating him and the other two people poisoned by this nerve agent, while still providing outstanding care to the other patients who rely on our hospital, has been a huge and unprecedented challenge that I’m proud our staff at Salisbury Hospital have risen to.” </s> LONDON — Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal has been discharged from a British hospital, more than two months after he was poisoned with nerve agent, hospital officials in the United Kingdom said Friday.

Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unresponsive on a bench in Salisbury, a city in southern England, on March 4. The two were taken to Salisbury District Hospital in critical condition.

Yulia Skripal was discharged from the hospital last month.

Salisbury District Hospital announced Friday that both patients have now been released. The father and daughter have been taken to an undisclosed location for their safety.

Britain says the Skripals were poisoned with Soviet-developed Novichok nerve agent and blames Russia. The Kremlin denies any responsibility. Sergei Skripal spent time in jail in Russia for passing state secrets to Britain. He was released as part of a spy swap in 2010 and moved to Salisbury.

The poisoning incident has soured relations between Russia and many British allies.

Dozens of countries including Britain and the United States have expelled over 150 Russian diplomats because of the incident, while Russia has retaliated by expelling foreign envoys.

London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said it was continuing to investigate the poisonings as attempted murders.

"This is a complex investigation and detectives continue to gather and piece together all the evidence to establish the full facts and circumstances behind this dreadful attack," the MPS said in a statement.



 "In the interests of Sergei and Yulia’s safety, we will not be discussing any protective or security arrangements that are in place," the statement added.

More: Yulia Skripal, daughter of Russian former spy, discharged from Salisbury hospital after poisoning

More:List of countries and organizations that expelled Russian diplomats </s> LONDON — British police declared a major incident Wednesday after a man and a woman were exposed to an unknown substance close to the city of Salisbury, where a Russian former spy and his daughter were poisoned with nerve agent four months ago.

Emergency services were called to the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire county in southern England, after the pair, both in their 40s, were found unconscious in a property Saturday evening.

“They are both currently receiving treatment for suspected exposure to an unknown substance at Salisbury District Hospital. They are both in a critical condition,” Wiltshire Police said in a statement.

Police said the two were initially thought to have used heroin or crack cocaine from a contaminated batch of drugs, but that more testing was now being carried out to determine the nature of the substance.

British tabloid newspaper The Sun reported that the two were poisoned and that samples were sent to Porton Down, the nearby government laboratory, for testing.

The Sun reported that security chiefs fear that they could have been poisoned with same batch of Soviet-developed nerve agent used on Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, who were found unresponsive on a bench about 10 miles away in Salisbury on March 4.

More: Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal discharged from hospital after poisoning

London’s Metropolitan Police Service said that counterterrorism officers were working with local police on the investigation, “given the recent events in Salisbury."

The places the Amesbury pair — whose identities weren’t immediately released — frequented before they became ill have been cordoned off in Amesbury and Salisbury as a precaution and police patrols have increased. The Sun reported that they are not known to have any links to Russia or security services.

Public health officials said there is not believed to be a significant health risk to the public, but this “will be continually assessed as further information becomes known.”

More: Who is Sergei Skripal? Russian spy found unconscious in English park sparks intrigue

Britain says the Skripals were poisoned with Novichok nerve agent and blames Russia. The Kremlin denies any responsibility. Sergei Skripal was jailed in Russia in 2006 for passing state secrets to Britain. He was released as part of a spy swap in 2010 and moved to Salisbury.

That poisoning incident has soured relations between Russia and many British allies including the expulsion of hundreds of diplomats on both sides.

Yulia was discharged from Salisbury District Hospital in April and her father was discharged from the same hospital in May. Both were taken to an undisclosed location for their protection. </s> Former double agent Sergei Skripal has been discharged from Salisbury Hospital more than two months after he and his daughter were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent, the hospital has said.

The Skripals were found unconscious on a bench in the English cathedral city of Salisbury on March 4.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the pair were attacked with a military-grade nerve agent from the Novichok group of poisons, developed by the Soviet Union.

Russia has denied Britain's charges of involvement in the first known offensive use of such a nerve agent on European soil since World War II.

It has suggested Britain carried out the attack itself to stoke anti-Russian hysteria.

Salisbury District Hospital said that all three people hospitalised in the attack — Sergei and Yulia Skripal as well as a police officer who came to their assistance — had now been released.

The Skripals have been taken to an undisclosed location for their safety.

"We have been able to discharge Sergei Skripal," said Lorna Wilkinson, director of nursing at the hospital.

Sergei Skripal is a former Russian intelligence officer who was convicted of spying for Britain before coming to the UK as part of a 2010 prisoner swap.

He had been living quietly in the cathedral city of Salisbury, 145 kilometres south-west of London, when he was struck down.

Yulia Skripal, 33, recovered more quickly than her 66-year-old father and was discharged last month.

The police officer who was also exposed to the poison was discharged from hospital two weeks after the incident. </s> The former Russian spy poisoned with a nerve agent is no longer critically ill in hospital, according to doctors. Sergei Skripal, 66, is “responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition”. It comes on the back of the news his daughter Yulia’s condition is also improving after the attack on 4 March, which left them both fighting for their lives.

Police believe Skripal and his daughter, who was visiting him from Russia, first came into contact with the Novichok agent at his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, said: “Following intense media coverage yesterday, I would like to take the opportunity to update you on the condition of the two remaining patients being treated at Salisbury District Hospital. “Last Thursday, I informed you that Yulia Skripal’s condition had improved to stable. As Yulia herself says, her strength is growing daily and she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital. “Any speculation on when that date will be is just that – speculation. In the meantime, Yulia has asked for privacy while she continues to get better – something I’d like to urge the media to respect.

“I also want to update you on the condition of her father, Sergei Skripal. He is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition. “As you’ll appreciate, I won’t be giving any further updates at this time.” Following the news that Skripal’s condition had improved, the Russian Embassy to the UK tweeted: “Good news!” In her first statement since coming out of a coma last week, Yulia, 33, said: “I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growing daily. I am grateful for the interest in me and for the many messages of goodwill that I have received.” Russia has appealed for the UK to issue visas for relatives to visit the Skripals in hospital in Salisbury, where they are being treated for exposure to the deadly chemical. It has warned Britain is “playing with fire and will be sorry” over the poisonings as the two countries traded jibes at the United Nations. Russian UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya claimed the UK’s main argument about the “unquestionable Russian origin” of the Novichok is “no longer valid” following comments from Porton Down’s Gary Aitkenhead. Moscow called the UN Security Council meeting to discuss the incident, with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov saying the UK has “legitimate questions” to answer about what happened. But security minister Ben Wallace said it was “beyond reasonable doubt” that Russia was to blame for the attack, as the UK sought to maintain diplomatic pressure over the incident. On Wednesday, Russia lost a vote at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague on its demand for its experts to be involved in testing samples of the substance used in the Salisbury attack. Meanwhile, two guinea pigs were found dead at Mr Skripal’s home after the property was sealed off for investigations. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs added a cat was also found in a distressed state at the house and a decision was taken to euthanise the pet. </s> (CNN) — A woman who was exposed to a Soviet-era nerve agent in Amesbury, England, died on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said.

The woman, identified by police as Dawn Sturgess, 44, was exposed to Novichok last week after handling a contaminated item. The same nerve agent was used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.

“This is shocking and tragic news. Dawn leaves behind her family, including three children, and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this extremely difficult time,” Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, head of UK Counter Terrorism policing, said Sunday.

Charles Rowley, 45, who was also exposed to the nerve agent, remains hospitalized in critical condition, police said.

Test samples from Sturgess and Rowley show they were exposed to Novichok “after touching a contaminated item with their hands,” police said.

Detectives are working to identify the source of the contamination, police said, but a source has not yet been established. Police said there is no evidence that either Sturgess or Rowley visited any of the sites where the Skripals may have been poisoned. Skripal was discharged from the hospital in May and his daughter was released in April.

“We are not in a position to say whether the nerve agent was from the same batch that the Skripals were exposed to,” police said. “The possibility that the two investigations might be linked is clearly a key line of inquiry for police. However, it is important that the investigation is led by the evidence available and the facts alone.”

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday she was “appalled and shocked” by the death of Sturgess, according to a statement released by 10 Downing Street. May also said her “thoughts and condolences” go to Sturgess’ family and loved ones.

“Police and security officials are working urgently to establish the facts of this incident, which is now being investigated as a murder,” the statement read. “The government is committed to providing full support to the local community as it deals with this tragedy.”

Sturgess originally collapsed at an address in Amesbury on June 30 and was taken to the hospital, police said. Five hours after her collapse, police said, an ambulance was called back to the same address for Rowley, who also fell ill and was taken to the hospital.

Salisbury District Hospital treated Sturgess and Rowley. The hospital’s medical director, Dr. Christine Blanshard, said the staff “worked tirelessly to save Dawn.”

A police officer sought medical advice Saturday in connection with the ongoing investigation of the nerve agent exposure, but was given the “all clear,” according to Wiltshire Police.

UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid called Thursday for Russia to provide explanations after it was confirmed that Sturgess and Rowley were exposed to the same nerve agent as Skripal and his daughter.

Russia has denied any involvement in the Skripal incident. Still, more than 20 other countries have expelled Russian diplomats in a show of support for the UK.

“This terrible news has only served to strengthen our resolve to identify and bring to justice the person or persons responsible for what I can only describe as an outrageous, reckless and barbaric act,” Basu said.

Nerve agents kill by affecting the nervous system in various ways.

Novichok, which works by causing a slowing of the heart and restriction of the airways, is one of the world’s rarest nerve agents. Very few people outside Russia have experience with it.

It was developed in secret by the Soviet Union during the Cold War in the 1980s as a means of countering US chemical weapons defenses, but was revealed to the world by former Soviet scientist and whistleblower Vil Mirzayanov.

Mirzayanov told CNN that Novichok is up to 10 times as potent as VX, the weapon used to kill Kim Jong Un’s half brother, Kim Jong Nam, in 2017.

“A lethal dose … and the person will die immediately. If (the dosage) is less, (the person) will go through very tortuous scenes. They will start convulsions, and stop breathing and then lose vision, and there are other problems — vomiting, everything. It’s a terrible scene,” Mirzayanov said. </s> LONDON — Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal has been discharged from a British hospital, more than two months after he was poisoned with nerve agent, hospital officials in the United Kingdom said Friday.

Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unresponsive on a bench in Salisbury, a city in southern England, on March 4. The two were taken to Salisbury District Hospital in critical condition.

Yulia Skripal was discharged from the hospital last month.

Salisbury District Hospital announced Friday that both patients have now been released. The father and daughter have been taken to an undisclosed location for their safety.

Britain says the Skripals were poisoned with Soviet-developed Novichok nerve agent and blames Russia. The Kremlin denies any responsibility. Sergei Skripal spent time in jail in Russia for passing state secrets to Britain. He was released as part of a spy swap in 2010 and moved to Salisbury.

The poisoning incident has soured relations between Russia and many British allies.

Dozens of countries including Britain and the United States have expelled over 150 Russian diplomats because of the incident, while Russia has retaliated by expelling foreign envoys.

More: Yulia Skripal, daughter of Russian former spy, discharged from Salisbury hospital after poisoning

More: List of countries and organizations that expelled Russian diplomats
Former Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are taken to a hospital in critical condition after being exposed to an unknown substance in Wiltshire, United Kingdom. Skripal was granted refugee status in the UK following a "spy swap" deal between the UK and Russia in 2010.