Former Russian spy buried, investigations reveal new information

London, Dec 8 (UNI) Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was yesterday buried in London, as investigations revealed suspicions that he was poisoned in the bar of a luxury London hotel where he met two Russian businessmen.

All seven bar staff working at the Pine Bar in the Millennium Hotel that night have tested positive for polonium-210, the radioactive isotope that killed Litvinenko. Health authorities are trying urgently to contact the 250 customers who were in the busy bar on November 1.

Health experts were surprised to find that the levels of radiation found in the seven bar staff approached that found in Litvinenko's wife, Marina. Professor Pat Troop of the Health Protection Agency said there was no short-term danger to the bar staff but conceded that there was a 'very small' long-term risk of cancer.

Michael Clark of the agency's radiation protection division said last night that it was possible that Litvinenko was poisoned by a contaminated cigarette or drink.

Investigators believe the poison cocktail was likely to have been manufactured in a guest room at the hotel, a short walk away from the US Embassy. Significant traces of polonium-210 were found in a fourth-floor room, which was occupied by a visiting Russian.

Police believe that the killer may have stalked Litvinenko in London that day and had first tried to poison the ex-KGB colonel in a sushi bar. However that failed, yet ample traces of the deadly radioactive isotope were left in the Piccadilly restaurant. Traces were also found on an Italian academic, Mario Scaramella, who was in the Itsu sushi bar. Toxicologists found polonium-210 in every place that Litvinenko visited after his drink at the hotel. It was not until he arrived home two hours later that he fell violently ill.

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