Journalist Mark Urban, author of the Skripal Files Photo: supplied
The poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia fast became one of the biggest stories of this year.
The former Russian military colonel, who was a spy for British Intelligence, fell dangerously ill after coming into contact with the nerve agent novichok.
BBC journalist Mark Urban had carried out extensive interviews with Skripal before the attack, asking about his life and experience inside the GRU (Russia's military intelligence).
It was meant to be background information for a book about post cold-war espionage, but instead became the basis for a book about the man himself, The Skripal Files: The Life and near Death of a Russian Spy.
