The response to the nerve agent attack against the Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury cost Wiltshire police alone more than £7m, it has been revealed.

Describing the incident as “unprecedented” the crime commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson, said he believed the bill would be picked up by central government.

The total cost of the attack on former Russian spy and his daughter will clearly run into many tens of millions of pounds.

A few hours after the attack, the investigation was handed to the national counter-terrorism network and with several hundreds of its officers having worked on the case, it is bound to have spent many millions.

Home Office officials are also currently working out how much the attempted murder has cost the economy in Wiltshire and in Salisbury itself. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, which the British government has blamed on Russia, 2,000 fewer visitors were arriving in Salisbury every day and Wiltshire council has accepted that the city will not be back to normal until next summer.

Macpherson said: “The nerve agent attack in Salisbury three months ago has been an unprecedented incident for our force, which has meant significant costs have been incurred because of the scale of the investigation.

“At this stage we are estimating that the total cost of Wiltshire police’s response is expected to be £7.5m. I want to reassure the public that I am asking the Home Office to cover all our costs.

“The government has already agreed to an initial special grant funding of £1.6m covering our costs in the last financial year, and the policing minister Nick Hurd MP has recognised the ongoing costs to Wiltshire police. I expect the additional costs incurred to be met in this financial year as well.”

The crime commissioner praised police, staff and volunteers, as well as partner agencies for their commitment in supporting the operation. “Also, the resilience of the community in Salisbury has been incredible and they, along with the business community, should be applauded for their attitude whilst the investigation has continued.”

It also emerged that the oficer injured in the attack, DS Nick Bailey, had been into police headquarters in Devizes to speak to colleagues and was recovering well.

A second site contaminated in the attack, Salisbury ambulance station, has been declared safe and handed back to the NHS. The Maltings shopping centre, where the Skripals collapsed, was the first to be released after decontamination was completed.

A Defra spokesperson said: “As part of our ongoing clean-up operations in Salisbury, decontamination work is now complete at the Salisbury ambulance station. The site has been handed back to Wiltshire council, that has released it back to the NHS trust.”



Alistair Cunningham, chair of the Salisbury Recovery Co-ordinating Group, said: “This is good news for Salisbury and is another positive step in the recovery programme. The city is returning to normal and the release of this site following the Maltings reopening last weekend is encouraging and reassuring that Salisbury is safe for visitors and local residents.”

A South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “South Western Ambulance Service has been operating as normal, with paramedics providing care to those who need it, and the move back to the station will be carefully planned to ensure continuity of normal services.”