Irish guests sought in hotel poisoning
inquiry
 By Staff
Reporter
Five Irish men and women who stayed in the London hotel where Russian
ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned have been urged to contact the
British health service.
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs was told over the weekend there
was a small risk that five Irish people who stayed in London’s Millennium
Hotel on the nights of October 31 and November 1 may have been poisoned.
So far the department has contacted three of the people and expects to
be in touch with the remaining two shortly.
A department spokesperson said two double rooms were booked in the hotel
by Irish visitors.
Investigators probing Mr Litvinenko’s death believe he received
a fatal dose of the radioactive substance polonium-210 at the Millennium
Hotel on November 1.
The department spokeswoman said: “The British Government wanted
us to make contact with them.
“We’ve been able to make contact with three of the people
so far and we have passed on the request that they should get in touch
with the NHS. These steps are all precautionary.”
Although investigators believe that Mr Litvinenko was the main target
a number of other people have also been affected and traces of polonium-210
have been found in locations across London and on two easyJet aircraft.
An Italian politician who met Mr Litvinenko in London on November 1 was
found to have higher than normal traces of polonium-210 in his body.
Last Thursday seven people who work at the Millennium Hotel tested positive
for traces of polonium-210.
The presence of the Irish citizens came to light as British authorities
attempted to trace everyone who had even remote contact with Litvinenko
or were in the same location as him.
The Millennium Hotel emerged as the most likely site for the poisoning
of Litvinenko after a cup was discovered that contained traces of the
radioactive substance which eventually killed him.
It is understood polonium-210 was also found in a dishwasher at the Grosvenor
Square hotel raising concerns that it could have been released into the
water system.
Mr Litvinenko’s wife Marina has accused the Russian Government of
the poisoning.
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