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| Alexander Litvinenko 'did not inadvertently poison himself' | Alexander Litvinenko 'did not inadvertently poison himself' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko did not accidentally kill himself after handling nuclear material, the inquiry into his death has heard. | Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko did not accidentally kill himself after handling nuclear material, the inquiry into his death has heard. |
| His widow Marina rejected allegations that he had bought the radioactive substance polonium-210, saying he was a "very legal person'". | His widow Marina rejected allegations that he had bought the radioactive substance polonium-210, saying he was a "very legal person'". |
| She also told the court about an arson attack on their London home and incidents of harassment. | She also told the court about an arson attack on their London home and incidents of harassment. |
| Mr Litvinenko was a vocal critic of the Russian government and spy agency FSB. | Mr Litvinenko was a vocal critic of the Russian government and spy agency FSB. |
| Mr Litvinenko, who fled to the UK in 2000 and had British citizenship, died nearly three weeks after drinking tea laced with polonium at a hotel in London in November 2006. | |
| Two men - former KGB bodyguard turned politician Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun - were named as the main suspects in 2007. Both deny any involvement and remain in Russia. | Two men - former KGB bodyguard turned politician Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun - were named as the main suspects in 2007. Both deny any involvement and remain in Russia. |
| The judge-led inquiry at London's Royal Courts of Justice was shown a video of Russian soldiers using an image of Mr Litvinenko as target practice. | |
| 'Illegal things' | |
| Asked about the claims that Mr Litvinenko had acquired the polonium-210 himself, his widow said it was "not possible". | Asked about the claims that Mr Litvinenko had acquired the polonium-210 himself, his widow said it was "not possible". |
| "It's illegal and he will not do any illegal things in this country," she said. | "It's illegal and he will not do any illegal things in this country," she said. |
| On her second day of giving evidence, Mrs Litvinenko told the court the family had been subjected to harassment whereby a man claiming to be from the Russian embassy had made repeated visits to their north London home. | |
| She described how their home was firebombed in 2004, as was a house across the road belonging to former Chechen rebel leader Akhmed Zakayev, | |
| She also said her husband had been warned he would be killed following the publication of his second book, focussing on corruption within the FSB. | |
| The inquiry has previously heard that Mr Litvinkeno, 43, may have been poisoned with polonium twice. | |
| Mrs Litvinenko told the court her husband had met Mr Lugovioi and Mr Kovtun in London on 16 October 2006, and had been ill that night. She said they thought it was food poisoning and he took two days to recover. |