Second man who met ex-spy suffers radiation poisoning
Andrei Lugovoy has damage to vital organs consistent with exposure to dangerous levels of radiation, the same condition that killed Kremlin critic Mr Litvinenko in London on November 23.
Mr Lugovoy’s business partner Dmitry Kovtun is also in hospital and Mario Scaramella, an Italian contact of Mr Litvinenko, has undergone treatment in London for the effects of contamination.
There have been contradictory reports about Mr Kovtun. Some said he was in a critical condition but a lawyer who was in touch with his representatives said those reports were wrong.
Mr Litvinenko, who was buried in London on Thursday, blamed the Kremlin for his poisoning. The case has revived memories of Cold War spying intrigues and strained London-Moscow relations.
It was disclosed last night that all seven staff working at the Millennium Hotel’s Pine Bar on the day of Mr Litvinenko’s meeting with the two Russian men had been contaminated with polonium-210.
They have been told by health officials that they face no short-term health damage but a “very small” increased risk of cancer in the long term.
More than 200 customers and other people known to have been at the bar on November 1 will be contacted and offered tests to determine if they have been contaminated.
