The barrister acting for Ms Sturgess' daughter at the inquest was Michael Mansfield QC, who has been described as "The king of human rights work" by The Legal 500 and as a "Leading Silk in civil liberties and human rights" (including actions against the police). He said: "The use of novichok in Salisbury was the first aggressive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War.
"It put hundreds of members of the British public at risk and killed Ms Sturgess.
"The issue of who was responsible for it is a matter of almost unparalleled public concern.
"There is a compelling public interest in this inquest investigating what responsibility the Russian state had for Ms Sturgess' death."
However the senior coroner for Wiltshire, Mr Ridley, restricted the scope of the inquest and ruled out consideration of where the nerve agent came from, claiming "the evidence is overseas."
The only beneficiaries from this operation have been MI6 and the UK government who have prevented Sergei Skripal from returning to Russia and revealing any recent confidential MI6 information.
In the light of recent developments in Ukraine it begs the question: what information of value to Russia might Sergei Skripal have held?
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