Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets is described as the first instalment of a cover-up podcast series from Something Else and Sony Music Entertainment. The investigation centres on Lionel Crabb, a British wartime naval diver celebrated for his work defusing Nazi mines along the Grand Canal in Venice during World War Two, which earned him a George Medal. Crabb was also said to have been a close friend of Ian Fleming and possibly the inspiration for the James Bond character. In April 1956, at the height of the Cold War, Crabb was tasked by MI6 with a covert underwater reconnaissance mission against a Soviet warship moored in Portsmouth Harbour on England's south coast. Crabb dived beneath the ship and never resurfaced. His disappearance triggered a story that, according to the series, eventually implicates the British royal family, MI6, the CIA, and the KGB. The host introduces Commander Julian Malik, a retired Navy diver he describes as having searched for over nearly twenty years and as possibly the last living link to the mystery. The episode is framed as the series trailer, advertising binge access on Apple Podcasts or weekly listening wherever podcasts are available. British government records related to the case are officially withheld until 2057, making this one of the longest document embargoes currently in force for a Cold War-era incident.
