Critically ill man is former Russian spy "A man who is critically ill after being exposed to an unknown substance in Wiltshire is a Russian national convicted of spying for Britain, the BBC understands. Sergei Skripal, who is 66, was granted refuge in the UK following a "spy swap" between the US and Russia in 2010. He and a woman, 33, were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping centre in Salisbury on Sunday afternoon. The substance has not been identified." Alexander