Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died from ingesting a large dose of radioactive material known as Polonium 210, the British health authorities said Friday. Large quantities of alpha radiation had been traced in his urine, Roger Cox, director of the health watchdog HPA said in London. As a result, people who had been in contact with Litvinenko, and the places where he visited before the attack on him earlier this month, were being searched for radioactive substances. 'We are being faced with the unprecedented event in the UK of someone being poisoned by a type of radiation,' Pat Troop, chief executive of the HPA said.
| As opposed to ricin, administered through the tip of an umbrella by a faceless Bulgarian... |
Litvinenko, who died in a London hospital late Thursday, had shortly beforehand firmly blamed Russian leader Vladimir Putin for what happened to him, it was disclosed Friday. In a message dictated two days before his death, Litvinenko, 43, said: '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.'
| Litvinenko wasn't an African colored guy, so he'll get a little more attention span than that. But he's a Russer -- nobody anybody important knows, certainly the wrong politix for Lynn Redgrave -- so Putin will find the howls of protest reverberating in his ears for maybe a month, month and a half. Not quite as long as the average Britney Spears marriage, in other words. |
'May God forgive you for what you have done,' added the statement, which was read out by his friend Alexander Goldfarb to the press on Friday.
Speaking at a Russia-EU meeting in Helsinki, 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?'
| Because he literally dictated it on his deathbed? |
He called Litvinenko's death a tragedy but its circumstances were 'not worth any further comments.' He added: 'The death of a person is always a tragedy. I regret the death and express my regret to the family.' He said there was no evidence of a crime, but Russia was prepared to provide the British authorities with 'every possible help' in their investigations into Litvinenko's death. |
