Litvinenko says UK did not learn lessons from previous poisonings
The UK government did not learn lessons from the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, his widow said yesterday as investigations continue into an attempt on another former Russian intelligence agent.
Litvinenko is believed to have been killed with radioactive polonium-210 by Russian agents in London.
In a television interview yesterday, Marina Litvinenko made public a letter from then home secretary Theresa May, now the prime minister, promising that the UK would do everything in its power to stop such an incident happening again.
“It has happened again,” Mrs Litvinenko said. “It means something was not done.”
She appeared on TV a week after the attempted murder of former Russian intelligence agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, in Salisbury, England.
“Lessons haven’t been learnt,” Mrs Litvinenko said.
She also took aim at Russian money in British politics.
“When you allow people with money to come to your country to make a business, you need to make sure where the money has come from.”
Public Health England yesterday warned hundreds of people to wash their clothing after traces of nerve agent were discovered at a restaurant and a pub visited by Mr Skripal and his daughter. The two were later found slumped on a park bench and remain in critical condition.
“While there is no immediate health risk to anyone who may have been in either of these locations, it is possible, but unlikely, that any of the substance which has come into contact with clothing or belongings could still be present in minute amounts and therefore contaminate your skin,” the department said.
“Repeated skin contact with contaminated items may pose a small risk to health.”
Police said they had identified more than 240 witnesses, and large parts of Salisbury remain cordoned off as the investigation continued.
On Friday, 200 military personnel were sent to the city to help in the investigation.
In Westminster, a war of words is mounting over suspected Russian involvement in the poisoning.
The shadow chancellor of the exchequer, John McDonnell, said he was no longer going to appear on TV station Russia Today, and urged his Labour Party colleagues to do the same. He said the Kremlin-backed channel’s coverage “goes beyond objective journalism” and a boycott was the right move.
Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, suggested that a deal might be in the works with Labour for new sanctions against Russia after the poisoning.
But Mr Hammond rejected Mrs Litvinenko’s suggestion that the Conservative Party give back more than £800,000 (Dh4 million) in funding from Russian oligarchs, insisting there were very strict rules on political donations in the UK.
“There are people in this country who are British citizens who are of Russian origin,” he said. “I don’t think we should taint them or should tar them with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s brush.”
On Tuesday, the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, suggested England could pull out of the football World Cup to be held in Russia this year.