Where Sergei Skripal and daughter are now after Salisbury poisoning 6 years ago

04 March 2024 , 07:00

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Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were famously poisoned in Salisbury in March 2018 (Image: EAST2WEST NEWS)

It's been six years since former KGB spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury.

The father and daughter were discovered unconscious on a bench in the quiet Wiltshire city on March 4, 2018, and placed in a coma after the assassination attempt. It was believed nerve agent Novichok was sprayed on the front door of their house.

Police officer Nick Bailey fell seriously ill after searching the property. Tragically, the substance caused the death of Dawn Sturgess, 44, and left her boyfriend Charlie Rowley fighting for his life. The pair were exposed to the poison in a perfume bottle found seven miles away.

It sparked a huge diplomatic crisis between Britain and Russia, with intelligence chiefs pointing the finger of blame at Vladimir Putin's country, that denied wrongdoing. Two alleged spies, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, were accused but they claimed to have made a trip to view Salisbury Cathedral.

Yulia wrote a letter after she was discharged from hospital and said her recovery had been 'slow and extremely painful' (AFP/Getty Images)

Following the attempt on their lives, the pair were treated in hospital. Yulia was discharged on April 9 and transported to a secure location, while her father was allowed out on May 18. A week later, a written note from Yulia was given to the press that said: "We are so lucky to have both survived this attempted assassination. Our recovery has been slow and extremely painful."

House where retired Russian spy was poisoned with Novichok is sold

Yulia explained that she would continue to progress with treatment, but the attack had a "devastating" impact on her life. She said: "In the longer term I hope to return home to my country." Yulia added: "I ask that everyone respects the privacy of me and my father. We need time to recover and come to terms with everything that has happened."

Sergei and Yulia were said to have spent two years in an MI6 safe house to keep them safe. It is believed they then fled the UK to start a new life abroad, with rumours of them being sent to New Zealand or Australia with new identities. Sergei would now be 72 years old and Yulia 39. It is likely they will remain under the radar for the rest of their lives.

Their former Salisbury neighbours, Ross and Mo Cassidy, received a Christmas card from them in December 2019. They told the Sunday Times: "It's nice to know they are thinking of us, but I don't expect we'll ever see them again."

The following year, the Skripals' family said they believed they were in a secret location abroad. Yulia's aunt Natalia Pestsova said that she had no idea where her relatives were. She told The Sun: "We heard so many things about their destiny - that they went to live in New Zealand.

Their house in Salisbury was sold to Wiltshire Council for £260k in 2019 and bought by a local last year (Daily Mirror)

"I just feel they're alive, somewhere, somehow, and that we're very unlikely to see them again." She said Yulia had not replied to messages on social media, despite having seen them - but she had been going through family profiles. She said: "I wonder if this is because she's been missing us."

British chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon previously told the Daily Mail: "I'm sure Yulia especially will want to return to some sort of normality and a remote Commonwealth country may be an option. The Government continues to have a duty of care and the Russians seem unconcerned with any collateral damage they caused around this assassination attempt. So security arrangements would in all certainty continue."

In 2019, a military team decontaminated the house where the Skripals were poisoned and removed the windows and roof. The house was declared safe in September 2019 and two years later, Sergei sold it to Wiltshire Council for £260,000. In February 2023, a local bought it in a shared ownership deal.

At the time, county councillor Phil Alford said: "We are in the process of selling 47 Christie Miller Road. Work to refurbish the property will likely be completed in June. At that point the home will be reoccupied. We're delighted this property in a lovely area will once again become a place that someone can call home. The community has been through an awful lot and we hope this closes a difficult chapter for them."

Nia Dalton