Spy ‘briefed Russia’s EU enemies’

Sergei Skripal, the former Russian double agent, travelled around Europe briefing the Kremlin’s enemies for years before he was poisoned in England, intelligence officers have claimed.

The revelation presents a possible motive for the attack on Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury on March 4 and will raise further questions about whether he received adequate protection from the British authorities.

Skripal, who is believed to have met his former MI6 handler regularly at a restaurant in Salisbury, also travelled to Estonia and the Czech Republic to impart knowledge about his former colleagues at the GRU military intelligence agency, it was claimed.

The British government has blamed Russia for the attack on Skripal, 66, who was poisoned with the nerve agent novichok alongside Yulia, 33. Police have refused to comment on a motive.

Skripal was jailed in Russia, accused of passing secrets to MI6, but was officially pardoned and came to Britain in 2010 as part of a spy swap.

The New York Times reported yesterday that he met Czech spies on several occasions from 2012 and travelled to Estonia, where he met intelligence officers, in 2016. He first travelled to Prague after the death of his wife, Lyudmila, and met intelligence officers, the newspaper said. He was said to have provided information about GRU officers operating in Europe, although his information was out of date, as he retired from the Russian agency in 1999. He would, however, have been able to provide insight into GRU and Kremlin methods. Czech spies also came to Britain, it was claimed.

Further questions were raised about whether he was still working with British intelligence after reports that Skripal gave a lecture in Poole, Dorset, at the Special Boat Service headquarters. It is not unusual for former MI6 handlers to hold meetings with their former agents, even after retirement, to check on their welfare. It is also not unusual for former spies to speak to academics, think tanks and research institutions.

However, if it emerges that British intelligence helped to facilitate Skripal’s visits to other European agencies there will inevitably be questions over whether adequate arrangements were made for his safety.

Skripal remains in hospital but is no longer in a critical condition. His daughter has been released. – The Times