Italian security expert 'clear of radioactive contamination'

An Italian security expert who was one of the last people to see poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko before he fell ill said today tests have cleared him of radioactive contamination.

Mario Scaramella travelled from Rome to meet with Litvinenko at a sushi bar in London on November 1 – the day the former intelligence agent first reported the symptoms that ultimately led to his death in the intensive care ward of a central London hospital.

High doses of polonium-210 – a rare radioactive element usually manufactured in specialised nuclear facilities – were found in his body – and Britain’s health protection agency began a screening programme for people who visited the same venues at Litvinenko on November 1.

“I am fine,” Scaramella said.

“ I am not contaminated and have not contaminated anybody else.” Scaramella returned to London to undergo tests and help the police with their inquiries yesterday.

He said he is in security protection and refused to give details of where he was speaking from.

More than three dozen staff at the two hospitals that treated Litvinenko will be tested for radioactive contamination, Britain’s Health Protection Agency said this morning.