German police test four for radiation

The former wife of a Russian businessman in the focus of investigations surrounding the fatal poisoning of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, along with three relatives, are being tested for radiation contamination, German police said today.

Investigators have found traces of polonium-210, the rare radioactive substance that killed Mr Litvinenko, in at least two locations that businessman Dmitry Kovtun visited during a four-day stay in Hamburg before he met Mr Litvinenko in London on November 1.

They included the apartment of Mr Kovtun’s ex-wife, where he is believed to have stayed before flying to London.

Police investigator Thomas Menzel today said that she, along with her partner and two small children, may have been contaminated.

The four were taken to a hospital in Hamburg in what police described as a precautionary move to check whether they had absorbed any radiation.

Initial tests showed no external contamination but further tests will show if there were internal traces.