sergei skripal

And the poisoned perfume

recommended reading

As an account of the case, Mark Urban’s 2018 book offers unique access to Skripal prior to the incident in Salisbury as well as a thorough examination of the investigation: The Skripal Files: The Life and Near Death of a Russian Spy

List of people associated with the Institute for Statecraft, including Pablo Miller. Document released by the Anonymous group. The list is headed “CND”, the initials of Christopher Nigel Donnelly, director of the organization.

There are 22 names on the list. A brief biography for each was prepared by a website called the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media

• Current military / Ministry of Defense

  • Colonel Angus Taverner: former director of news media operations at the Ministry of Defense

  • Lt Col Annabelle Janes: Commanding Officer, Land Intelligence Fusion Centre

  • Lt Col Debi Lomax: Chief of General Staff’s Commander’s Initiative Group

  • Captain Joe Walker-Cousins: reservist in Specialist Group Military Intelligence and employed as a private security contractor in Saudi Arabia

  • Howard Body: Principal Analyst and Assistant Head of Science Support, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down

  • Ian Cohen: a senior analyst at HSBC bank, who also seems to have an official army email address

• The Foreign Office – Adam Rutland: Communications and Engagement Department

• US Embassy – Zachary Harkenrider: Counselor for Political Affairs

• Hudson Institute – Craig Kennedy: Senior Fellow and past president of the German Marshall Fund

• Journalists

  • Helen Boaden: former Director of BBC News

  • Isabel Oakeshott: former political editor of the Sunday Times

• Chatham House (influential defense think tank)

  • Duncan Allen: former Foreign Office Eastern Research Group

  • Mathieu Boulegue: Research Fellow, expertise on Russia

• Risk/security/intelligence consultants

  • Paul Harkness: former brigadier at Army Headquarters, now sole director of Hawk Consultancy

  • Pablo Miller: MI6 officer cum security consultant

  • Neil Barnett: former journalist, now runs a risk consultancy named Istok Associates

  • Paddy Nichol: retired British army officer and former director of the private security company Rubicon International

• Institute for Statecraft trustees

  • Harry Hart: property investor

  • Phillip Matthews: former director of Astutus Intelligence, current director of PM Homeland Security

• Academic – Professor James Gow, King’s College London Department of War Studies

• Unidentified affiliations

  • William Bortrick

  • Alexander Patterson 

One of the documents released by Anonymous was this discussion between Christopher Donnelly, the director of the Institute for Statecraft, and General Richard Barrons. The discussion focuses on Russia and the need to shape the political debate in order to shift attitudes.

Another of the documents from the Institute for Statecraft, released by Anonymous in November and December 2018, is a list of desired outcomes following the Salisbury poisonings. These include the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Britain (which happened) and a boycott of the Russia 2018 World Cup (which didn't).

Soon after the Skripals fell ill, the Institute for Statecraft commissioned a report by Harod Associates into the Russian response to the incident.

Harod Associates had previously produced a report on doping allegations in Russian sport prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Attribution for music used in this episode:

Assassinations Podcast Theme Music (Intro, Outro, and Transitions) written and performed by Graeme Ronald

"Thinking Ahead" by Purple Planet is licensed under CC BY 4.0 / A derivative from the original work

"Piano at Night" by Purple Planet is licensed under CC BY 4.0 / A derivative from the original work

"On the Wing" by Purple Planet is licensed under CC BY 3.0 / A derivative from the original work