This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/6203222.stm
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Ex-spy's contact assessed further | Ex-spy's contact assessed further |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Doctors in London are continuing to assess the condition of Mario Scaramella - a contact of the poisoned Russian ex-agent Alexander Litvinenko. | Doctors in London are continuing to assess the condition of Mario Scaramella - a contact of the poisoned Russian ex-agent Alexander Litvinenko. |
| Tests have shown traces of toxic polonium 210 in the Italian academic's body, but he is said to be displaying no symptoms of radiation poisoning. | Tests have shown traces of toxic polonium 210 in the Italian academic's body, but he is said to be displaying no symptoms of radiation poisoning. |
| Mr Scaramella is "well", University College Hospital, in London, said. | Mr Scaramella is "well", University College Hospital, in London, said. |
| However, a friend, Paolo Guzzanti, told the BBC that doctors had said to Mr Scaramella he was going to die. | However, a friend, Paolo Guzzanti, told the BBC that doctors had said to Mr Scaramella he was going to die. |
| Mr Scaramella's lawyer Sergio Rastrelli told Channel 4 News his client was "clearly worried". | Mr Scaramella's lawyer Sergio Rastrelli told Channel 4 News his client was "clearly worried". |
| "The doctors said he has definitely been contaminated with polonium but its not radioactive," he said. | "The doctors said he has definitely been contaminated with polonium but its not radioactive," he said. |
| "So he has ingested or inhaled it, but in [an] extremely minimal dose, far less than that with which Litvinenko was poisoned." | |
| Radiation toxicity | Radiation toxicity |
| UCH doctors said on Saturday that "no evidence of radiation toxicity" was found following preliminary tests on Mr Scaramella. | UCH doctors said on Saturday that "no evidence of radiation toxicity" was found following preliminary tests on Mr Scaramella. |
| The former consultant on a commission investigating KGB activity in Italy was one of the last people to meet Mr Litvinenko - a former KGB agent - before his death last month. | The former consultant on a commission investigating KGB activity in Italy was one of the last people to meet Mr Litvinenko - a former KGB agent - before his death last month. |
| Mr Litvinenko's death is being linked to the discovery of polonium-210 in his body. | Mr Litvinenko's death is being linked to the discovery of polonium-210 in his body. |
| The Scaramella file resembles a story from a spy novel BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner Scaramella in spotlight Russians study Gaidar illness | The Scaramella file resembles a story from a spy novel BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner Scaramella in spotlight Russians study Gaidar illness |
| On Saturday, airline Easyjet said Mr Scaramella had flown on flight 3506 from Naples to Stansted, Essex, on 31 October and also on flight 3505 from Stansted to Naples on 3 November. | On Saturday, airline Easyjet said Mr Scaramella had flown on flight 3506 from Naples to Stansted, Essex, on 31 October and also on flight 3505 from Stansted to Naples on 3 November. |
| But the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said it had no "public health concerns" about those flights. | But the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said it had no "public health concerns" about those flights. |
| It also said all three British Airways planes at the centre of the polonium-210 scare had been given the all-clear and were able to return to service. | It also said all three British Airways planes at the centre of the polonium-210 scare had been given the all-clear and were able to return to service. |
| It has emerged that a section of Arsenal Football Club's Emirates Stadium, in north London, was checked as part of the investigation into possible contamination of other sites but was also given the all-clear. | It has emerged that a section of Arsenal Football Club's Emirates Stadium, in north London, was checked as part of the investigation into possible contamination of other sites but was also given the all-clear. |
| Experts from the Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria are now involved in the investigation into the Litvinenko poisoning. | Experts from the Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria are now involved in the investigation into the Litvinenko poisoning. |
| Mr Scaramella met Mr Litvinenko, who had been a critic of the Russian government since defecting to the UK, at a sushi restaurant in central London on 1 November. | Mr Scaramella met Mr Litvinenko, who had been a critic of the Russian government since defecting to the UK, at a sushi restaurant in central London on 1 November. |
| It was later that day Mr Litvinenko fell ill. | It was later that day Mr Litvinenko fell ill. |
| Friends believe he was poisoned because of his criticisms of the Putin government. | Friends believe he was poisoned because of his criticisms of the Putin government. |
| Radiological assessment | Radiological assessment |
| Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov said Moscow was ready to help investigate his death but he did not see "any grounds for speculation" implicating the Russian secret service, the FSB (formerly the KGB). | Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov said Moscow was ready to help investigate his death but he did not see "any grounds for speculation" implicating the Russian secret service, the FSB (formerly the KGB). |
| The Health Protection Agency said just under 3,000 people had now called the NHS Direct line in the wake of the radiation scare in the UK, with 170 being followed up for further investigation. | The Health Protection Agency said just under 3,000 people had now called the NHS Direct line in the wake of the radiation scare in the UK, with 170 being followed up for further investigation. |
| A total of 60 samples have been tested, mainly from medical staff and ambulance workers, and all have proved negative. | A total of 60 samples have been tested, mainly from medical staff and ambulance workers, and all have proved negative. |
| The number of people referred as a precaution to a specialist outpatient clinic for radiological exposure assessment remains at 24. | The number of people referred as a precaution to a specialist outpatient clinic for radiological exposure assessment remains at 24. |