Public hearings start into death of Brit by Russian nerve agent [Video]

Public hearings begin on Monday at a British inquiry into the 2018 death of a woman who was exposed to the nerve agent Novichok used in an attempt to kill a Russian double agent, which plunged relations between London and the Kremlin to new lows.

The intended target of the poison attack was former double agent Sergei Skripal, who lived in Salisbury, southwest England, and on whom Russian President Vladimir Putin had sworn vengeance.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia were both found unconscious on a bench in the city centre in March 2018. They survived after intensive treatment in hospital, and now live under protection.

Mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess, 44, died in July 2018 after spraying herself with what she thought was perfume from a bottle discarded in a park that contained the deadly chemical weapon.

UK authorities believe that the agents targeting the Skripals had thrown it out.

Britain blames …