Counter-terrorism police have joined the investigation into two people in a critical condition in Wiltshire, amid fears that they may have been exposed to a nerve agent.

Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley were found unconscious at a property in Amesbury and were initially believed to have overdosed, but their symptoms raised alarm among medics and Wiltshire police, which led them to suspect a possible nerve agent.

The couple, both in their 40s, were in a critical condition at Salisbury district hospital, Wiltshire police said on Wednesday. Tests were being carried out on the substance at the nearby Porton Down government defence laboratory. Whitehall sources said that it was too early to tell whether the substance was related to illegal drugs or “something more sinister”.(theguardian)…[+]