Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Prince Charles visits UK site of nerve agent attack

Published 22/06/2018, 14:14
Updated 22/06/2018, 14:14
© Reuters. Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visit Salisbury in southwest Britain

© Reuters. Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visit Salisbury in southwest Britain

SALISBURY, England (Reuters) - Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited Salisbury on Friday to support the city as it tries to recover from the impact of this year's poison attack on a former Russian double agent and his daughter.

They visited businesses and met local residents before attending a reception for those most closely involved in trying to restore the city's tourist trade.

Visitor numbers have fallen since Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench in March.

They had been poisoned with a Cold War era nerve agent for which the government blamed Russia, plunging bilateral relations to a new low, although the Kremlin denied any involvement.

Charles and Camilla also held a private meeting with Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey who fell ill after coming into contact with the Novichok nerve agent after trying to help the Skripals.

For weeks, the predominant images coming from this elegant southern city were not those of England's tallest cathedral spire but of police roadblocks and cordoned-off streets as investigators in hazchem suits swept the area.

Re-stimulating tourism in Salisbury has been a priority after visitor numbers fell some 20 percent. Nine businesses folded as a result of the incident, on top of a reduced footfall of up to 80 percent in the immediate vicinity of the poisoning.

Sergei Skripal, 66, was part of a spy swap between Russia and Britain in 2010 and had since made Salisbury his home. He was released from hospital last month after spending weeks in an induced coma.

Yulia Skripal, 33, left hospital in April and spoke last month to Reuters, outlining her desire to return to Russia in the future despite the poisoning.

"My life has been turned upside down," she said.

© Reuters. Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visit Salisbury in southwest Britain

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.