Russian’s illness ‘unlikely to be caused by thallium sulphate’

THE illness of the Russian former security agent Alexander Litvinenko is unlikely to have been caused by thallium sulphate poisoning, the hospital doctors treating him said last night.

Dr Amit Nathwani, the consultant caring for Mr Litvinenko at University College Hospital in London, said further tests would be conducted to establish the cause of his condition.

It is yet another twist in the extraordinary Cold War style saga and comes after a leading toxicologist claimed that Mr Litvinenko could have been poisoned with “radioactive thallium”.