Alexander Litvinenko: Putin ‘probably’ approved murder of russian spy, UK

Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably approved” the murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko who died in a London hospital in November 2006 from radioactive poisoning, a British public inquiry concluded today. Check back soon for further information.

On his death bed, he blamed the Russian secret service (FSB); in fact he signed a statement specifically naming Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Cameron was speaking after the publication of a report by Sir Robert Owen, the former high court judge who chaired the inquiry into Litvinenko’s death.

— Owen says that Litvinenko’s vocal criticisms of Putin and the FSB, his association with leading opponents of the Putin administration and his alleged work for British intelligence meant that “there were powerful motives for organizations and individuals within the Russian State to take action” against him — including killing him.

There are other Russians, including human rights activists and journalists, that Kremlin opponents suspect Putin may have had killed.

The two Russians he had green tea with; Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, have denied killing him.

At the same time, Brooks thinks that investigators from the United Kingdom and Russian Federation should join their efforts to investigate the case. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, accused Britain of politicising the matter.

Mrs Litvinenko, added she was “very pleased that the words my husband spoke on his deathbed when he accused Mr Putin have been proved by an English court”. She urged the British authorities to expel Russian operatives, impose sanctions on Russia and issue a travel ban on President Putin. Litvinenko was due shortly to become a star witness in a number of trials. Not long before his death, Litvinenko publicly accused Putin of being a pedophile.

It said: “We regret the only criminal case was politicised and overshadowed the general setting of bilateral relationships”.

Home Secretary Theresa May told the British parliament on Thursday that the murder was a “blatant and unacceptable” breach of worldwide law.

A spokesperson for British Prime Minister David Cameron said that Downing Street was taking the findings of the inquiry “extremely seriously” and that Cameron found the findings “extremely disturbing”.

“It is not the way for any state, let alone a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to behave”. Among other things, Mr. Litvinenko had campaigned to reveal that the FSB was involved in apartment bombings in Russian Federation in 1999, when Mr. Putin was its chief. “In the years that followed, Mr. Litvinenko made repeated highly personal attacks on President Putin, culminating in the allegation of pedophilia in July 2006”, Owen says.