Second UK radiation poisoning confirmed

LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) British scientists probing the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko said today a second man had been poisoned by radiation.

Media reports said the man was Mario Scaramella, an Italian contact whom Litvinenko met at a London sushi restaurant on November 1, the same day he fell ill.

''We are confirming that one further person who was in direct contact with Mr Litvinenko has been found to have a significant quantity of polonium 210 in their body. This is being investigated further in hospital,'' a spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said.

Police and health authorities declined to confirm the man was Scaramella.

Polonium 210 is the same radioactive isotope that poisoned Litvinenko, who died a slow and agonising death in a London hospital last month.

A lawyer representing Scaramella told Reuters he was awaiting for final results before making any comments. He declined to explain Scaramella's earlier statements that he was not contaminated, saying the tests were ''complex''.

The suspicious death of Litvinenko in London last month has heightened tensions with Moscow and sparked a police investigation that has found traces of radioactive material in 12 places and grounded aircraft in both countries.

REUTERS PB RN2159