Police officer tests negative for Novichok after walking into hospital over fears of nerve agent symptoms
THE police officer who walked into a hospital over fears of nerve agent symptoms has tonight tested negative for Novichok.
The man was being tested for possible exposure at Salisbury District Hospital, where the Amesbury Novichok couple was left fighting for their lives just days before.
The officer was first taken to Great Western Hospital in Swindon before being transferred to Salisbury District Hospital for staff "to carry out the appropriate specialist tests".
But hours later, the hospital confirmed he had not been exposed to the Russian nerve agent.
Earlier, a source said the police officer had admitted himself to the hospital as he was feeling unwell and was concerned about his symptoms.
The news comes a week after Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley were brought to the hospital after being exposed to the substance in Salisbury or the surrounding area.
They thought to have handled the same contaminated substance that deliberately poisoned ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia in March this year.
Staff were earlier seen wearing green hazardous waste suits coming out of the Great Western Hospital emergency department - where the police officer first reported to before he was transferred.
A spokesperson for the hospital earlier said there was "nothing to suggest there is any wider risk to anyone at the hospital".
They added: "Salisbury District Hospital has seen a number of members of the public who have come to the hospital with health concerns since this incident started and none have required any treatment.
“We would like to reiterate the advice from Public Health England that the risk to the wider public remains low.”
Forensic investigators continue to comb for clues in Wiltshire after the latest Novichok poisonings.
Investigators wearing camouflage protective clothing entered the John Baker House assisted-living accommodation in Salisbury, where mother-of-three Ms Sturgess lives, after they took a sample from the outside of the building on Friday.
Other sites visited by the couple in the lead-up to their hospitalisation are also being looked at, as detectives piece together a timeline of their movements.
Novichok remains highly toxic for a considerable period of time, so even the tiniest trace remaining in a container picked up by the victims could account for their severe illness.
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