Polonium traces found at UK restaurant

Traces of the radioactive poison which killed Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko have been discovered at another London restaurant…

Traces of the radioactive poison which killed Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko have been discovered at another London restaurant, British health authorities said on Friday.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said it had discovered evidence of contamination with polonium 210 at Pescatori restaurant in central London and had offered to test staff there.

It said the restaurant was open for business and added there was no public health concern.

Litvinenko died on 23 November. He accused the Kremlin of assassinating him in a case which has strained relations between London and Moscow.

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Polonium traces have been discovered at sites visited by two Russian business associates of Litvinenko in London and Hamburg in late October, and on planes on which one of them flew between Moscow and London that month.

The men, Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun, met Litvinenko at London's Millennium Hotel on 1 November, the day he fell ill. A guest and staff at the Millennium are among 12 people the HPA says have tested positive for low levels of polonium, although it stated that none of them are in any danger.

Contamination was also found at a London sushi bar where Litvinenko met an Italian contact on 1 November.