Who was Alexander Litvinenko?

The row over whether to hold an inquest or a public inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko rumbles on. But who was he and why did his death become such a cause celebre?


                                                                
Alexander Litvinenko fell ill after a meeting with former KGB contacts in London in 2006


Before he was poisoned and died in November 2006, few outside Russia had ever heard of Alexander Litvinenko.

A 43-year-old former officer with the Federal Security Service (FSB), Mr Litvinenko had become a useful, if not entirely reliable, source for journalists interested in the machinations of Vladimir Putin's Russia.
But it has since emerged the Russian spy was being paid by both the British secret service MI6 and the Spanish secret service.

He was allegedly investigating Spanish links to the Russian mafia, and had planned to fly to Spain with the main suspect for his murder, Andrei Lugovoi.

Mr Litvinenko's name made its way into infamy after he took tea with Mr Lugovoi and another Russian contact Dmitri Kovtun at a central London hotel on 1 November 2006.


He fell ill soon afterwards and spent the night vomiting.
Three days later he was admitted to Barnet General Hospital in north London, where his condition gradually became a cause for concern.

On 11 November he was interviewed by the BBC Russian Service and said he was in "very bad shape" after a "serious poisoning".

 THE LITVINENKO CASE

• 1 Nov 2006 - Alexander Litvinenko has tea with former agents Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun in London
• 4 Nov 2006 - After three days of vomiting he is admitted to Barnet General Hospital
• 17 Nov 2006 - His condition worsens and he is transferred to University College Hospital
• 23 Nov 2006 - Litvinenko dies
• 24 Nov 2006 - His death is attributed to polonium-210
• 30 Nov 2006 - Home Secretary John Reid tells MPs traces of radioactivity had been discovered in 12 locations in London, as well as two British Airways planes.
• 4 Dec 2006 - Nine British detectives travel to Moscow to conduct inquiries
• 22 May 2007 - Britain's director of public prosecutions decides Mr Lugovoi should be charged with the murder of Mr Litvinenko
• 31 May 2007 - Mr Lugovoi denies any involvement in his death but says Mr Litvinenko was a British spy
• 5 Jul 2007 - Russia officially refuses to extradite Mr Lugovoi, saying its constitution does not allow it
• 16 Jul 2007 - Britain expels four Russian diplomats, and three days later Moscow retaliates by kicking out four British diplomats
• 20 Sept 2012 - Pre-inquest review hears that Russia's links to the death will be probed
• 13 Dec 2012 - Legal review told that Mr Litvinenko was a paid worker for MI6
• May-June 2013 - Inquest into Mr Litvinenko's death delayed as coroner decides a public inquiry would be preferable, as it would be able to hear some evidence in secret
• July 2013 - Ministers rule out public inquiry

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19647226