Chemical Attacks

Relations between Russia and the Conservative-led British government are being pushed to the brink. In Salisbury, former KGB officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are found unconscious on a park bench, poisoned by the radioactive nerve agent Novichok. The attack sends shockwaves through Britain and Europe, while the suspected perpetrators are flaunted in a prime time TV interview on Russia Today, convincing Sergei Cristo that his former homeland is now run like a mafia state.NATO countries respond by expelling swathes of Russian diplomats and spies. So why does the UK’s foreign secretary shake off his security detail to party in Italy with his pal, the Russian oligarch Evgeny Lebedev, just one month after this critical incident? Tensions are rising and a demand for answers about Russian interference in British politics growing. But it seems that powerful forces are determined to keep the truth buried.Episodes drop weekly!A Project Citizen productionTo find out more about the story and issues it raises visit www.the-citizens.comPresented by: Carole Cadwalladr and Peter JukesWritten by: Carole Cadwalladr and Peter JukesProducer and Sound Design: Ruth AbrahamsStudio Producer: Sean Byrne RobertsLocation Producers: Sheridan Flynn and Manasa NarayananOriginal Music: Phil ChannellMixed: Nigel Appleton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

Journalists Carole Cadwalladr and Peter Jukes – with the help of Conservative party whistleblower Sergei Cristo – expose an alleged secret spy ring operating at the very heart of the British political system. This is the untold story of the most audacious Russian influence operation in British history. It involves honey traps, Russian agents and information warfare.Russian wealth and glamour collide with a wild west of new digital landscapes. And as Sergei tries and fails to raise the alarm, this intoxicating cocktail – shaken and stirred from within the Russian Embassy in London – masks the tightening iron fist of Vladimir Putin inside Russia and murder of traitors on foreign soil. All while MPs, intelligence officers and the police turn a blind eye.Not since the reach of the Cambridge spy ring in the second half of the 20th century has the Kremlin aimed so high and gone so unnoticed in penetrating the highest echelons of British politics. Together, Conservative whistleblower Sergei Cristo, Orwell Prize-winning journalist Carole Cadwalladr and creator of the hit podcast, Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder, Peter Jukes, uncover a story that forms one small corner of Vladimir Putin’s plot against the West. It’s a story we’re still living, where the stakes couldn’t be higher.This podcast seeks to shine a light in the dark corners of a Westminster spy ring hidden in plain sight and search for the answers we all deserve.A Project Citizen & The Citizens production.Sign up for exclusive content, events and more at www.the-citizens.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.