British say poison killed ex-Russian spy

LONDON — Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was fatally poisoned by a radioactive substance, traces of which were found in his urine, at his home and at a London restaurant and hotel he visited the day he became ill, according to the British health department. It called the case "unprecedented" in Britain.

Authorities closed the restaurant and sealed off part of the hotel Friday as part of an emergency effort to trace the substance, polonium 210, and ensure that it does not harm other people. Litvinenko would have eaten, inhaled or received it through a wound, according to Pat Troop, chief executive of Britain's Health Protection Agency.

Coming after the mysterious poisoning of another prominent opponent of the Kremlin, Ukrainian politician Viktor Yushchenko, the death provoked accusations that Russia continues to use Cold War-style tactics to eliminate critics abroad. London was the scene of the 1978 assassination of a Bulgarian dissident who was killed by a jab from a umbrella tip bearing the toxin ricin.

Litvinenko blamed the Kremlin shortly before he died, according to friends and family members. "As I lie here I can distinctly hear the beating of wings of the angel of death," Litvinenko, 43, said in a dictated statement, according to friend Alex Goldfarb, who met reporters while accompanied by Litvinenko's tearful father.

"You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life," the statement said. "May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people."

Kremlin and Russian security service officials have denied any involvement in the poisoning of Litvinenko, who fled to Britain in 2000 after publicly accusing the security service of involvement in the bombings of two apartment buildings in Russia in 1999 in which 300 people died. Litvinenko had been investigating the murder last month of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another critic of the Putin government.

Litvinenko's death complicated a summit in Helsinki between Putin and European Union leaders. Speaking there, the Russian president called Litvinenko's death a tragedy, expressing his condolences and pledging his country's cooperation in the investigation.

Addressing allegations that he had ordered the assassination to silence a troublesome critic, Putin said, "I hope the British authorities won't fuel groundless political scandals." He added, "It is a great pity that even such tragic things as human death are used for political provocations."