About us
See other news storiesHome Secretary's statement on the investigation into Litvinenko death
30 November 2006
In a statement to the House of Commons on Thursday, John Reid gave more information on the death of Alexander Litvinenko, and the investigation into radiation traces found on British Airways planes.
The Home Secretary told the House of Commons that, while he was limited in what he could say about the ongoing investigation into the death by radiation poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, there was widespread cross-government cooperation on the matter, and a thorough investigation was underway.
He told the House:
'To date, around 24 venues have or are being monitored and experts have confirmed traces of contamination at around 12 of these venues.
Police continue to trace possible witnesses and to examine Mr Litvinenko's movements at relevant times. It is probable that the investigation will continue to bring additional locations to our attention for screening - that is, additional to the numbers I have just given to the House.
I would stress that the Health Protection Agency continues to reassure members of the public that the risk of exposure to this substance remains low.
At 23:00 last night, NHS Direct had received approximately 1700 calls. A total of 69 people have been referred by NHS direct to the Health Protection Agency as a precaution. Of these, 52 people have been contacted and of those, 18 have been referred to a special clinic or have been referred to an appropriate clinic in their area.
To date 29 urine tests have been returned, none of these results show any cause for concern, and I hope that helps to reassure the public on these issues.
Earlier today, the Coroner opened the inquest into Mr Litvinenko's death. That inquest was formally adjourned pending further scientific evidence and investigation by the police. The post mortem is expected to take place tomorrow.
As confirmed last night, two British Airways aircraft are being monitored by experts at London Heathrow. I can confirm that early results show low levels of a radioactive substance onboard both aircraft.
On the first plane the Health Protection Agency expects to be able to confirm that there is no residual public health risk remaining on that plane. A formal report is in progress, and measurements on the second plane continue.
The risk to public health is, we believe, low but passengers who wish to receive further advice should in the first instance contact the special helpline or website set up by British Airways to confirm if they were on one of the aircraft. If they were and are concerned they should contact NHS direct for further advice.
A third BA aircraft is on the ground in Moscow. BA has decided not to return it to London until the position is clearer, and the Government is in contact with BA over the next steps. Between them, these three aircraft have made around 221 flights, involving around 33,000 passengers and about 3,000 staff.
A fourth aircraft of interest, which is a Boeing 737 leased by Transaero, and which arrived at London Heathrow Terminal 1 this morning. Passenger details will be collected and Health Protection Agency will contact individuals if any matters of concern are found.
The Foreign Secretary spoke to the Russian Foreign Minister on Wednesday 29 November and requested all necessary assistance with the public health aspects of the incident. In addition, she formally requested all necessary co-operation with the ongoing investigation. The Russian foreign minister assured her this co-operation would be forthcoming.
We will be contacting other governments where those planes may have landed in the interim.
I hope that this statement and various bulletins issued by the health authorities have given a degree of reassurance at least, in what is understandably a worrying time for many travellers.'
