The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door, a true crime documentary exploring the 2018 nerve agent attack in Salisbury, airs tonight on Sky Documentaries at 9pm.
The one-off special, which first aired on CNN in the US earlier this year, investigates the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who collapsed on a park bench. They survived, as did police officer Nick Bailey, but Dawn Sturgess died after handling a discarded perfume container used for the poison.
Exclusive interview with Theresa May
Former Prime Minister Theresa May, who served for three years in Downing Street, gives an exclusive interview in the documentary. In the trailer, she states: “Russia had been responsible for this.” Another interviewee says: “There were people who thought we should treat this attack as an act of war.” Someone else remarks: “There was enough poison in that bottle to kill 10,000 people. There is no playbook for this.”
International crisis and espionage war
The documentary delves into the events surrounding the incidents with the chemical weapon and how it triggered an “international diplomatic crisis”. It also explores the “hidden espionage war it triggered between Russia and the West.”
It features high-profile individuals involved at the time, including police officer Neil Basu, former Minister for Women and Equalities Amber Rudd, and ex-Head of the Home Civil Service Mark Sedwill. The teaser ends with a word from Salisbury’s Reverend Kevin Inglis, who states: “The ugliness of the war was suddenly on our doorstep.”
The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door airs tonight, Tuesday, August 4, at 9pm, on Sky Documentaries.
