What happened when a quiet Wiltshire city unexpectedly made headlines around the world five years ago, is the subject of a new BBC radio podcast.
Hosted by TV presenter and podcast host Katie Piper, My Moment in History: The Salisbury Poisonings revisits Sunday 4 March 2018, when former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, were found slumped and unresponsive on a bench in Salisbury.
The pair had been poisoned in an assassination attempt and as the authorities dealt with fears of contamination and searched for the culprits, the city became a crime scene.
Two officers from Russian military intelligence were identified by police as the main suspects and a perfume bottle as the means of delivery of the nerve agent onto Mr Skripal’s front door handle.
The deadly poison was identified as Novichok and in July a local woman, Dawn Sturgess died after coming into contact with a discarded bottle of perfume which, unknown to her, contained the poison.
Home Secretary Priti Patel announced a public inquiry in 2021 to investigate Dawn’s death. The inquiry, which is ongoing was formally established in March 2022.
There are three Russians suspected of the poisonings and they are still wanted by UK authorities. Russia has never accepted responsibility for the attack.
In each episode Katie talks to local people about how they were affected, what they did, and how, five years on, they and the city are beginning to recover.
Katie says: “With the contributors I’ve talked to, they were everyday people getting on with their lives, until one moment changed everything, their lives were turned upside down in a way that is quite unimaginable for most people.
“I know how important it is to have a voice and be able to tell your side of the story so I hope through this podcast, I give that to the people that were involved in the poisonings.”
Freelance Journalist John Sweeney, who has written about Russia and how the state operates, also contributes. He says: “After the Salisbury Poisonings Britain kicked out some 20 odd diplomats as if this was some kind of effective punishment. All that means is that Vladimir Putin has to print 20 new diplomatic passports. There’s some reshuffling in his spy agencies. It’s an HR problem, that’s all.”
Chris Burns, Controller Local Audio Commissioning says: “Communities are at the heart of BBC local and this series looks at what happens when the unimaginable happens to an ordinary city in England and how lives are changed. It’s a gripping insight into what happens when a major international crime takes place on your doorstep.”
My Moment in History: The Salisbury Poisonings will air on BBC local radio and is available on BBC Sounds from today, 28 February.
