Spy postmortem one of most ‘dangerous’ ever undertaken

The postmortem examination of poisoned spy Alexander Litvinenko was “one of the most dangerous ever undertaken in the western world”, a pathologist has told the public inquiry into his death.

Dr Nathaniel Cary, a British Home Office forensic pathologist, said Mr Litvinenko’s radioactive body was “very hazardous” and was transferred to a secure site for tests.

During the postmortem examination, Dr Cary and his colleagues wore two white suits, protective gloves and specialised hoods, which had air pumped into them through a filter.

Mr Litvinenko (43) a former Russian spy who is thought to have been working for British secret service MI6 during his time in the UK, died at University College Hospital nearly three weeks after he had consumed tea laced with polonium on November 1st at the Millennium Hotel in London’s Grosvenor Square.

Dr Cary told the inquiry: “It has been described as the most dangerous postmortem examination ever undertaken in the western world and I think that is probably right.”

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.

Earlier, a counter-terror officer working on the investigation into the death of the Russian dissident told the inquiry the two main suspects are still wanted for his murder.

Detective Inspector Craig Mascall, who works for Scotland Yard’s counter-terror command, has been working on the probe into Mr Litvinenko’s poisoning since two days before his death on November 23 2006.

Mr Mascall told the inquiry: “It’s still an ongoing criminal investigation. There are still two people wanted for the murder of Mr Litvinenko and that’s Mr Lugovoi and Mr Kovtun.”

The detective inspector told the inquiry that at its peak there were 100 detectives and 100 uniformed officers working on the investigation.

Mr Litvinenko, who lost all his hair before his death, showed signs of multi-organ failure as a result of acute radiation poisoning, Dr Cary told the inquiry.

His cause of death was recorded as acute radiation syndrome, the pathologist said.

Dr Cary said: “It appears Mr Litvinenko ingested a large quantity of polonium-210 on or around November 1st 2006, largely if not wholly by oral ingestion, rather than by inhalation.

“The calculated amount absorbed was in far excess of known survivability limits.”

Asked if there was anything in Mr Litvinenko’s clinical history inconsistent with acute radiation syndrome, Dr Cary said: “No. In effect, the polonium-210 detected is the smoking gun in the case. It shows you what happened.”

The pathologist agreed there was no precedent for alpha radiation poisoning in the UK.

Ben Emmerson QC, who represents Mr Litvinenko's widow Marina, told the inquiry that murder suspect Mr Lugovoi gave a television interview to the Echo of Moscow last night in response to the opening day of proceedings.

In the interview, Mr Lugovoi claims the proceedings were resurrected, after being suspended due to the exclusion of secret material, in response to the Ukrainian conflict.

Reading a translation of Mr Lugovoi’s interview, Mr Emmerson said: “When the situation in Ukraine kicked off and the UK geographical interest... they had decided to dust off the moth balls and commence proceedings.”

Mr Lugovoi said he “couldn’t care less about what’s happening” in Britain in response to the start of the inquiry, Mr Emmerson said.

Agencies