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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Russia poisoning inquiry widens | Russia poisoning inquiry widens |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Russia is investigating the attempted murder of a contact of the former KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London last month. | Russia is investigating the attempted murder of a contact of the former KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London last month. |
| Dmitry Kovtun met Mr Litvinenko hours before he fell ill from the radioactive poison that eventually killed him. | Dmitry Kovtun met Mr Litvinenko hours before he fell ill from the radioactive poison that eventually killed him. |
| Reports that Mr Kovtun is in a critical condition have sparked speculation he too may have been poisoned. A lawyer linked to him denies he is unwell. | |
| The Russian investigation is being run parallel to a British murder inquiry. | The Russian investigation is being run parallel to a British murder inquiry. |
| A funeral service for Mr Litvinenko was held at a central London mosque on Thursday. | A funeral service for Mr Litvinenko was held at a central London mosque on Thursday. |
| The former spy, a vocal critic of the Kremlin, had issued a statement on his deathbed accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his poisoning. | |
| But the Kremlin has dismissed the allegations. | |
| On Thursday, seven workers at a bar where Mr Litvinenko met Mr Kovtun before falling ill reportedly tested positive for polonium-120, the radioactive substance blamed for his death. | On Thursday, seven workers at a bar where Mr Litvinenko met Mr Kovtun before falling ill reportedly tested positive for polonium-120, the radioactive substance blamed for his death. |
| The two men met at the Pine Bar in London's Millennium Hotel on 1 November. | The two men met at the Pine Bar in London's Millennium Hotel on 1 November. |
| The UK's Health Protection Agency said the risk to the general public was likely to be "very low". | The UK's Health Protection Agency said the risk to the general public was likely to be "very low". |
| Condition unclear | |
| Mr Kovtun was taken ill after he was questioned by British and Russian investigators, Russia's Interfax news agency said on Thursday. | |
| Mr Litvinenko died on 23 November in a London hospital | |
| "By the doctors' diagnosis, Kovtun's condition is critical," the agency said. Interfax had earlier reported Mr Kovtun was in a coma. | |
| However, Andrew Romashov, a lawyer, said Mr Kovtun's condition had not deteriorated since he met the prosecutors. | |
| "Kovtun's condition is satisfactory," he said, dismissing the earlier reports as "provocation". | |
| Mr Romashov, a lawyer for Mr Kovtun's business partner, ex-spy Andrei Lugovoi, said he had been in contact with Mr Kovtun's representatives. | |
| Both Mr Kovtun and Mr Lugovoi are said to have met Mr Litvinenko in the Millennium hotel before he fell ill. | |
| Mr Lugovoi is also in hospital but his condition is unclear. | |
| Parallel investigation | |
| Russian prosecutors on Thursday announced they would launch a criminal investigation into Mr Litvinenko's death and what they described as the attempted murder of Mr Kovtun. | |
| According to Russia's Itar-Tass news agency, Moscow's investigation will take place "within the framework" of assistance being offered to visiting British investigators. | |
| Prosecutors in Moscow said their criminal investigation would enable them to conduct a trial in Russia - if a Russian suspect was found. | |
| Moscow has already said it will not extradite any suspects to the UK. |