British knew of Litvinenko assassins before murder
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One of the latest US diplomatic cables to be released by WikiLeaks reveals that, according to the Russian Special Presidential Representative, Anatoliy Safonov, the British authorities knew, and were indeed following, the assassins of Alexander Litvinenko, the ex-Russian spy poisoned by radioactive material in London in 2006.
The cable details a meeting between Safonov and US Ambassador Henry Crumpton held in Paris in late 2006, in which the Russian states that “Russian authorities in London had known about and followed individuals moving radioactive substances into the city but were told by the British that they were under control before the poisoning took place.”. This, if true, implies that the Russian government may not have been responsible for the poisoning, and that Litvinenko may have known about the danger he was in at the time. It raises the question; could he have been saved?
At the same time, it must be noted that Safonov could well have been merely attempting to direct suspicions away from Russia as to who was responsible for the murder. We await a Russian response.
Cable: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/90864?intcmp=239
The cable details a meeting between Safonov and US Ambassador Henry Crumpton held in Paris in late 2006, in which the Russian states that “Russian authorities in London had known about and followed individuals moving radioactive substances into the city but were told by the British that they were under control before the poisoning took place.”. This, if true, implies that the Russian government may not have been responsible for the poisoning, and that Litvinenko may have known about the danger he was in at the time. It raises the question; could he have been saved?
At the same time, it must be noted that Safonov could well have been merely attempting to direct suspicions away from Russia as to who was responsible for the murder. We await a Russian response.
Cable: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/90864?intcmp=239
