The Skripal Files tells the full story behind the Salisbury Poisonings, one of the most shocking incidents to occur in Britain in recent memory. Broadcaster and historian Mark Urban interviewed Sergei Skripal in the months before the poisoning and explains why Skripal was targeted for assassination.'A scrupulous piece of reporting, necessary, timely and very sobering' - John Le CarréChosen as one of the best political books of 2018 by the Sunday Times.4 March 2018, Salisbury, England.Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were enjoying a rare and peaceful Sunday spent together, completely unaware that they had been poisoned with the deadly nerve agent Novichok. Hours later both were found slumped on a park bench close to death.Following their attempted murders on British soil, Russia was publicly accused by the West of carrying out the attack, marking a new low for international relations between the two since the end of the Cold War.The Skripal Files is the definitive account of the Salisbury Poisonings and how Skripal's story fits into the wider context of the new spy war between Russia and the West. The book explores Sergei's past as a spy in the Russian military intelligence, explains how he was turned to work as an agent by MI6, and his imprisonment in Siberia. His eventual release as part of a spy-swap brought him to Salisbury where, on that fateful day, he and his daughter found themselves fighting for their lives.

Introduction - Introduction: Introduction Section - Prologue: An Unlawful Use of Force Section - Part One: Agent Chapter - 1: The Pitch Chapter - 2: Sergei's Journey Chapter - 3: Into the Darkness Chapter - 4: Master Race No Longer Chapter - 5: Breakthrough in Madrid Chapter - 6: Inside the Glass House Chapter - 7: The View From Vauxhall Chapter - 8: Back Into the Light Section - Part Two: Prisoner Chapter - 9: Inside Lefortovo Chapter - 10: Litvinenko Chapter - 11: IK 5 Chapter - 12: Hitmen Chapter - 13: The Fateful Letter Chapter - 14: Operation Ghost Stories Chapter - 15: Deliverance Chapter - 16: Christie Miller Road Section - Part Three: Target Chapter - 17: Sunday 4 March Chapter - 18: The Fight For Survival Chapter - 19: 'Highly Likely' Russia Chapter - 20: The Investigation Falters Chapter - 21: The Information War Chapter - 22: The Long Road to Recovery