UK: Public inquiry implicates Putin in Litvinenko murder

Mr Litivinenko, 43, died in London after he was poisoned with polonium-210, which is thought to have been put in his tea.

Inquiry chairman Sir Robert Owen said Mr Putin probably signed off on the murder after a lengthy feud between the pair.

Welcoming the news outside the High Court in London, Mr Litvinenko’s wife, Maria, said: “The words my husband spoke on his deathbed when he accused Mr Putin have been proved by an English court.”

Mr Litvinenko had urged the UK government to expel Russian intelligence agents, ban Russian individuals from entering the country, including Mr Putin, and to impose economic sanctions.

The two men suspected of carrying out the murder, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, deny killing Mr Litvinenko, but Sir Robert said they likely acted under the orders of Russia’s FSB intelligence service.

Sir Robert highlighted the role of former FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev as well as Mr Putin. He wrote in the report: “Taking full account of all the evidence and analysis available to me I find that the FSB operation to kill Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr Patrushev and also by President Putin.”

Reuters reports that Mr Lugovoi branded the accusations against him “absurd”. Sir Robert, however, said he was “sure” the pair were guilty. Russia has refused to extradite them.

According to the chairman there were a number of motives for the murder – Mr Litvinenko’s association with other Russian dissidents, his criticism of Mr Putin and the FSB and his work for British intellgence.

“I am satisfied that in general terms, members of the Putin administration, including the president himself and the FSB, had motives for taking action against Litvinenko, including killing him, in late 2006,” Sir Robert wrote.

Polonium-210, which requires to be made in a nuclear reactor, also points to state involvement, Sir Robert wrote.

The inquiry was told Mr Litvinenko’s slow death was intended as a message for others.