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From Wondery, I'm Charlie Higson and this is The Spy Who.

Now normally, in the world of espionage, everything is secret.

We assume stuff is going on but we don't know very much about it.

But in the story we've been looking at in this series, the poisoning of Sergei Scrippel,

suddenly this world of spies and assassins bursts into public view. Scripal's extraordinary journey from a high-ranking intelligence

officer to a target of public intrigue makes him a compelling and cautionary figure.

One that became of interest to the journalistic group Bellingcat

and sparked their extraordinary investigation.

Now, as you've heard us say several times,

the realm of the spy is often shrouded in secrecy,

and it's often only when old historic files are dusted off and made public that

any details are ever revealed. However, Bellingat and its founder, Elliot Higgins, sought to

change that. Elliot and his team used digital tools to uncover truths that often evade traditional media outlets.

In this case, they exposed previously unknown details surrounding the suspects involved in Scripals' poisoning.

I am very pleased to have Elliot join me in the studio to discuss just how he and his team

managed to unveil the truth to the public.

Welcome to The Spy Who, Elliot.

Thanks for having me on.

Well, thank you so much for being here today to talk about this.

Well, I mean, it's quite an extraordinary case, isn't it?

I mean, where did your journey begin? When did you first hear about Sergei Scrippar?

...