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The police officer who nearly died after being exposed to the novichok during the Salisbury poisonings in 2018 has announced that he will be leaving the force.
Sergeant Nick Bailey, who came into contact with the nerve agent when he and two colleagues searched the Salisbury home of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, said he was leaving Wiltshire police after 18 years because he “can no longer do the job.” .
“After 18 years in the police force, I had to admit defeat and accept that I can no longer do the job,” he tweeted. “I wanted to be a police officer since I was a teenager, I couldn’t think of doing anything else, that’s why it makes me so sad.
“Like most police officers, I have experienced a fair amount of trauma, violence, discomfort, injury and pain. We take care of it, we take it seriously and we move on because that is our job. But we are still human and the impact this has should not be underestimated.
“The events in Salisbury in March 2018 took a lot out of me and while I’ve tried so hard to make it work, I know I won’t find peace as long as I remain in that environment. The police will remain in my heart and I am honored and privileged to have been a part of the Wiltshire Police. “
Bailey returned to active duty in January of last year after a 10-month recovery after what he described as an “emotional beating.” Recalling the moment when he was told that he had been poisoned with novichok, he said: “Knowing how the other two [the Skripals] they were … I was petrified. “
Mark Andrews, president of the Wiltshire Police Federation, said Bailey was the victim of a terrible and “unprecedented” crime and that all the police officers he had come in contact with would miss him.
“What happened to Nick is unprecedented and I hope it will not happen again to any other police officer or any other British citizen,” he said. “I can only hope that one day the criminals are brought to justice and Nick can rest in knowing that.”
Wiltshire Police Chief Kier Pritchard wished Det Sgt Bailey the “greatest success for the future” after his retirement.
“I have known and respected Nick for many years as a dedicated colleague and detective,” he said. “Understandably, the life of Nick and his family changed radically after the events in Salisbury in March 2018.
“Nick should be incredibly proud of all he has accomplished and will always be considered part of the Wiltshire police family. I’m sure that as a chapter closes, another opportunity will open up for Nick. He has been an outstanding officer and I wish him and his family the greatest success for their future. ”
Angus Macpherson, the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said Bailey “found himself in a situation that no other police officer in this country has ever been through.”
“I hope that today gives Nick and his family a sense of closure and allows them to begin to look to the future,” he added.
Skripal and her daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives after collapsing on a bench in Salisbury on March 5, 2018, while Bailey was also taken to hospital, where he was treated for more than fifteen days.
Evidence gathered by intelligence agencies led the government to conclude that the assailants, Russian nationals known by their aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, were officers of the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU.
Shortly after searching Skripal’s home after the poisoning, Bailey began to feel ill. “My pupils were like pinpricks. And he was pretty sweaty and hot. “He had gone home, but was rushed to the hospital.” Everything was shaking. I was very unsteady on my feet, “he said in November.
Subsequently, he and his family were unable to return home. “We not only lost the house, we also lost all of our belongings, including those belonging to the children. We lost all that, the cars … we lost everything. And yes, it has been very difficult to accept that. “
