Litvinenko contact was on BA aircraft grounded because of radiation

LONDON: One of the two Russians who met with Alexander Litvinenko on the day he fell mortally ill was on a British Airways aircraft being tested for radiation, a Russian newspaper reported as the investigation into the the former spy's death continued Thursday.   

Former KGB member Andrei Lugovoi, now a businessman, told Kommersant that he flew from London to Moscow on one of the "contaminated" aircraft on November 3, according to a report on the newspaper's website.    

He had, along with his business associate Dmitry Kovtun, met the Russian defector and fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin on November 1 in a central London hotel.   

Litvinenko fell ill later that day, and eventually died on November 23, with large quantities of the radioactive substance polonium-210 having been discovered in his urine.   

Earlier, British Airways said that "very low traces of a radioactive substance" had been found on two of three aircraft which were taken out of service to "enable forensic examination to be carried out".   

In a separate statement, the Home Office (interior ministry) said investigators had "started tests on two aircraft at Heathrow Airport and are making arrangements for a third plane to be tested."   

A BA spokeswoman said that of the three planes, two are in London and one is in Moscow.   

The British Airways aircraft that flew from London Heathrow to Moscow on November 3 is one of those listed on the company's website as being involved in the investigation into Litvinenko's death.    

The airline estimates that about 221 flights involving the three aircraft were affected, involving 33,000 passengers. The Boeing 767 flights covered incoming and outgoing flights throughout November from London Heathrow to Moscow, Barcelona, Duesseldorf, Athens, Larnaca, Stockholm and Vienna.   

Lugovoi told the newspaper that he had nothing to do with the alleged poisoning of Litvinenko, noting that traces of radiation could be found on anyone who came into contact with the victim. Traces of polonium-210 have been discovered at a central London sushi bar where Litvinenko met with the Italian academic Mario Scaramella and the central London hotel.   

Scaramella has been given the all-clear from possible radiation contamination, according to Sky News television, which said it spoke to him. The substance has also been found at Litvinenko's north London home, at the office of exiled Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky -- an acquaintance of Litvinenko -- and a security company. Two other locations are being searched.   

Britain's domestic Press Association news agency said it understood a number of Litvinenko's friends and family had also been tested, including Berezovsky, but they are said to be in "perfect health".   

Public health officials have so far sent eight people for precautionary tests at a special clinic. Forty-nine staff at the two hospitals where Litvinenko was treated have also had to provide urine for testing.   

The results are expected next week. None has been referred to the clinic and there was no risk of contamination at the hospitals, the Health Protection Agency added.   

One of the waitresses at the sushi bar told The Sun tabloid that she had been tested along with 19 other staff at the restaurant, who were all awaiting the results of their tests, which are due this weekend.   

Ela Malek told the daily that Litvinenko visited the sushi bar "at least once or twice a week" and was "very aloof".   

She said she doubted that staff at the restaurant were involved in the poisoning, noting that once the food was prepared, it is placed in a box with a clear lid, which after it is sealed and "is taken straight to the customer".   

Scaramella, who Italy denied Wednesday was one of its agents, has become a focus of the probe into Litvinenko's death as the Russian became ill after the pair met at the sushi bar.

But Scaramella has denied any involvement, saying the sushi bar meeting was to discuss an alleged Russian secret services "hit list" on which both their names featured.   

He is being treated by police as a witness and has vowed to do all he can to help them get to the bottom of the mystery. Elsewhere, there was speculation that poisoning could also be behind a mystery illness suffered by former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar who was recuperating in a Moscow hospital.   

Gaidar fell ill on a trip to Ireland last Friday. He heads an economic think-tank in Moscow that frequently criticises President Vladimir Putin's policy of increasing state control over the economy.   

The inquest into Litvinenko's death is due to begin on Thursday, and a post-mortem is to be carried out on Friday.