Britain tries to unravel mystery behind ex-Russian spy's death

LONDON: British police were working out on Saturday how former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko might have been poisoned with a highly toxic radioactive substance, and who could be behind it.   

British newspapers put Vladimir Putin in the spotlight, after Litvinenko accused the Russian president's regime of murdering him in a message from his deathbed, as the affair threatened to escalate politically.   

A "large quantity" of radiation probably from polonium 210 had been found in Litvinenko's urine, while checks were made on people who had contact with him.   

And the British government confirmed it had formally asked Moscow for any information it had on Litvinenko, a critic of the Kremlin who moved to London six years ago and took British citizenship.   

Litvinenko, who first fell ill on November 1 and died in a London hospital late Thursday, accused Putin of direct involvement in his statement released on Friday.   

The Times said on Saturday that British intelligence agencies claimed the poisoning bore the hallmarks of a "state-sponsored" assassination.   

It cited a senior official in ministry circles who said evidence yet to emerge pointed to the murder being carried out by foreign agents.   

The Sun said police and security services believe the killer could have secretly sprayed a fine mist of polonium 210 on Litvinenko's food at a London sushi restaurant where he dined with Italian contact Mario Scaramella.   

"We are convinced the sushi bar is the place where he was poisoned that day," the tabloid quoted a senior security source as saying.   

"The chances of him being poisoned at home with a residue without his family are remote. The most likely explanation is that his food was sprayed at the sushi bar and the material got onto his clothing as well, which was then carried on him to his next meeting at the hotel and on to his home."   

Another source told the newspaper: "We think it was either a liquid spray or possibly a powder. This one is straight out of Moscow rules."   

The Guardian published extracts from printed emails given to Litvinenko by Scaramella in the sushi restaurant. "All SVR (Russian foreign intelligence service) officers are sure that PG (journalist Paolo Guzzanti) and MS (Scaramella) still live closely with 'enemy No. 1 of Russia' -- (self-exiled oligarch) Boris Berezovsky and his 'companion-in-arms' -- first of all A. Litvinenko," one read.   

"Meanwhile above mentioned named Russian intelligence officers speak more and more about necessity to use force again PG and MS, considering their 'incessant anti-Russian activities' -- as well as against Berezovsky and Litvinenko."   

The Times said in its editorial that the unexplained death "has strengthened suspicions of Mr Putin's authoritarian administration and added to the ugly list of political murders and harassment of opponents that has heightened European Union concern over Russia."   

The British government is now in contact with Moscow over the affair.   

"The ambassador was asked to convey to the authorities in Moscow a request to provide any information they might have which would assist the police with their inquiries," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.   

In his deathbed statement, Litvinenko said: "You succeeded 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."   

The letter said of Putin: "You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed."   

Putin immediately condemned on Friday what he called the use of the Kremlin critic's death for political purposes.   

"Unfortunately tragic events like the death are (being) used for political provocations," the Russian leader told a news conference at an EU-Russia summit in Helsinki.   

Confirmation that Litvinenko had apparently been poisoned with radioactive material came after the British government said police in London had drafted in experts to look for radioactive elements at a number of locations.   

The Cabinet Office also confirmed that Britain's secret COBRA committee of high-ranking ministers and police plus domestic and overseas intelligence chiefs met on Friday to discuss the case.   

Meanwhile, doctors were assessing the risk to doctors and nurses at the two hospitals which treated Litvinenko before his death.   

Health Protection Agency (HPA) chief Professor Pat Troop told a central London news conference the fact that "someone has apparently been deliberately poisoned by a type of radiation" was an "unprecedented event" in Britain.   

HPA official Professor Roger Cox said staff who came into contact with Litvinenko at the two hospitals where he was treated were being monitored.