‘Umbrella’ assassination recalled amid cold war chill

The case that included James Bond-style gadgetry has been closed by Bulgarian authorities, writes Michael Thurston

THE infamous “umbrella” killing of Bulgarian dissident Georgy Markov, which became a symbol of Soviet intrigue at the height of the cold war, is being remembered this week amid a new east-west chill.

Markov died on September 11, 1978 — 30 years ago on Thursday — after being stabbed with an umbrella while walking across London’s Waterloo Bridge, in a case that combined cold war skullduggery and James Bond-style gadgetry.

An autopsy revealed a tiny ricin-filled metal pellet embedded in his calf, triggering speculation that Bulgaria’s secret police had bumped him off. But three decades of investigations have failed to get to the bottom of it.

This week authorities in Sofia will formally drop the case, as the ex-communist country’s 30-year statute of limitations expires, putting whoever killed Markov beyond the reach of Bulgarian police.

British police — a team of whom visited Bulgaria in May — have vowed to continue the probe regardless of Sofia’s action.

“We continue to work with the appropriate international authorities to investigate any new information that’s passed or made available to police,” said a Scotland Yard spokeswoman.

The anniversary comes amid talk of a new cold war between Russia and the west after Moscow’s brief war with Georgia, followed by its recognition of the independence of two Georgian breakaway regions.

Nato membership pledges for Georgia and Ukraine, and US plans for a missile shield system in ex- For Britain, the chill has been brewing for some time: it was precipitated by another mysterious killing in London of former agent Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006.

The circumstances of their deaths were equally sinister with Litvinenko, dying after drinking a radioactive cup of tea in the Millennium Hotel.

On Litvinenko’s death, London has been seeking the extradition from Russia of lawmaker and ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi to face charges, but Russia has refused.

On the Markov case, there has long been a chief suspect: Francesco Gullino, a Dane of Italian descent code named “Piccadilly” by his Bulgarian handlers.

According to Bulgaria’s Dnevnik newspaper, Gullino made at least four trips to London, where Markov was working as a journalist, it said.

Last week, a former investigator on the case said his Bulgarian masters granted “Piccadilly” holidays and rewards shortly after Markov’s death.

“All this led us to think that this agent had something to do with what happened to Georgy Markov,” said Bogdan Karayotov.

There had been hopes that the case could be unlocked with the end of the Cold War and Bulgaria’s increasingly close ties with the West, including entry into the EU and Nato in the last few years.

But with Sofia’s decision to end its probe, Britain is left to press ahead with probes into both the Markov and the Litvinenko deaths.