Although his operational knowledge ended with his arrest in Russia in 2004, Skripal was still regarded as being of value because of his inside knowledge of the workings of Russian military intelligence. According to the Czech magazine Respekt, Skripal visited Prague in 2012 and held discussions with Czech intelligence. Members of Czech intelligence subsequently met Skripal in the UK at least once, the magazine reported. Security sources in the Czech Republic said Skripal’s meetings with Czech intelligence agents would probably have been useful, but they dismissed them as a likely motive for the poisoning attack. He added: “The ties between MI6 and the Czech intelligence services are so good that it’s normal that the British were willing to rent him out, so to speak, to the Czech services.

Source: The Guardian May 14, 2018 12:13 UTC