Probe into Russian ex-spy's death expands

India
Probe into Russian ex-spy's death expands
By DPA, Nov 26, 2006 - 2:42:31 AM

London, Nov 25 - British police and intelligence officials were Saturday expanding their investigations into the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, examining videotapes and other evidence from places he was known to have lived in London.

The British government's top intelligence committee 'Cobra' met to discuss the case as Litvinenko's north London home, a hotel and a restaurant were combed, and a post mortem examination was being carried out.

Health authorities meanwhile appealed to anyone who had been in the restaurant and hotel where Litvinenko had been on or around Nov 1 to come forward for medical tests.

Traces of radiation believed to derive from polonium 210 had been discovered at the two locations, authorities had confirmed Friday.

Roger Cox, head of the Health protection Agency -, said anyone who may have come into contact with Litvinenko should report for tests to ascertain they were not endangered.

Anti-terrorist agents were reported to be investigating where the polonium could have come from - possibly from an industrial plant, but also from atomic weapons fabrication.

Friends of Litvinenko claim he was poisoned because of his criticism of Russian authorities - specifically of President Vladimir Putin and his associates.

The Foreign Office in London said late Friday it had contacted the authorities in Moscow over the case, which was being treated as a 'very serious matter'. A spokeswoman said the government had appealed to the Kremlin to help British police investigating the affair.

The 43-year-old former spy died at London's University College Hospital late Thursday, three weeks after he fell ill.

Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism branch, said police were keeping an 'open mind' on investigations, in which it had been established that Litvinenko met two Russians - one of whom he did not know - at the Millenium Hotel in central London on the morning of Nov 1.

One of the men, a stranger, had repeatedly urged him to join him in a cup of tea, Litvinenko was reported to have told detectives.

Later, he had a rendezvous with an Italian academic, Mario Scaramella, at the Itsu sushi bar near Piccadilly Circus to discuss documentation concerning the murder in Moscow last month of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

In a statement dictated two days before he died, Litvinenko blamed Putin for his death: 'You may succeed in silencing one man, but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life.

'May God forgive you for what you have done,' added the statement, which was read out by his friend Alexander Goldfarb to the press Friday.

Speaking at a Russia-EU meeting in Helsinki Friday, Putin, rejecting any accusations of official involvement in Litvinenko's death, offered his condolences to his family.

Questioning the genuineness of the Litvinenko statement, Putin said: 'Why was this note not published when he was still alive?'

Putin said he believed the death will be used as a 'provocation', adding that he hoped the British authorities don't do anything to whip up a 'political scandal'.

While Russian dissidents and opponents of Putin pointed the finger of blame at Moscow, some analysts in London said Litvinenko could have fallen victim to a 'private feud' between wealthy Russian exiles in Britain.

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