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27 November 2006

Cryptome

People walk past as British police officers stand guard outside a closed sushi bar, where former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko had lunch before he fell sick, in central London, Monday Nov. 27, 2006. Litvinenko, 43, a vociferous critic of the Russian government, died in polonium-210 poisoning last Thursday. This sushi restaurant where he ate before falling ill on Nov. 1 was still being decontaminated. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Police officers arrive at 25 Grosvenor Street, in London late Monday Nov. 27, 2006 as they continue their search of the 4th floor offices where the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, is thought to have visited on Nov. 1. Alexander Litvinenko died Nov 23 in hospital in London, of suspected poisoning by a radioactive substance, Polonium 210. It is thought that the offices may have been contaminated by the substance, as Litvinenko may have been here on Nov. 1 the day he fell ill. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=418642&in_page_id=1770&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=NEWS&ct=5

Mail on Sunday, 26 November 2006

Exclusive: Sushi bar man is nuclear waste expert

Mysterious past of last man to meet dead Russian

By GLEN OWEN and NICK PISA, Mail on Sunday Last updated at 12:15pm on 26th November 2006

[Excerpt]

The last person to meet Alexander Litvinenko before he succumbed to the agonising effects of radioactive poisoning is a self-professed expert in nuclear materials.

International 'security consultant' Mario Scaramella, who joined Litvinenko for the now infamous clandestine meeting in a London sushi bar, headed an organisation which tracked dumped nuclear waste, including Soviet nuclear missiles left over from the Cold War.

Litvinenko, an ex-KGB agent who became a trenchant critic of President Putin's Russia, fell ill after the sushi lunch - as exclusively revealed by The Mail on Sunday last week - and died 22 days later from poisoning by Polonium, a radioactive substance derived from uranium.

Yesterday other customers of the sushi restaurant answered an appeal by health agencies for them to undergo medical checks. Some 200 worried members of the public came forward, also including customers of a Mayfair bar where Litvinenko held another meeting on the day he was poisoned.

http://www.itsu.co.uk/press/litvinenko.htm

Itsu Restaurant Owner

Latest Information

The press and TV coverage of the death of Alexander Litvinenko is confusing and the speculative opinions of the various 'professionals' unclear.

We can categorically state that of the many thousands of customers (other than Mr Litvinenko) who have visited our Piccadilly branch in the past three weeks, not a single incident of illness has been reported to us.

Our Piccadilly staff have shown no signs of ill health.

We have received no contact from the Environmental Health Officer regarding any customers who visited Itsu Piccadilly in the past few weeks.

We are doing all we can to assist the Police with their investigation of this matter, and as a result Itsu Piccadilly is currently shut.

All other branches of Itsu remain open and are unaffected.

Below is a recent joint press statement released by Itsu and the HPA.

Press Statement On behalf of Itsu Limited

Clive Schlee, Managing Director of Itsu Limited, met today with the Health Protection Agency and makes the following statement:

“I understand that the Health Protection Agency has to take all precautions in relation to the events which occurred on 1 November. After extensive discussions with the Health Protection Agency, I wish to make the following four points:

1. I have not had a single report from our staff or our customers of any illness related in any way to the events of 1st November, especially after the elapse of three and a half weeks.

2. The HPA and I met with every member of our staff from Itsu Piccadilly this morning. They all appear to be in excellent health and I am grateful to them for their support and understanding.

3. The HPA advises us that the only Itsu affected is the branch at 167 Piccadilly and their interest is confined to those who visited the restaurant on 1st November. Their concern in any event is at a very low level.

4. If you are worried in any way, please contact NHS Direct for more advice and information on 0845 46 47.

I can confirm that this statement has been prepared in conjunction with the Health Protection Agency”

This statement is issued by Graham Shear, solicitor and partner in Teacher Stern Selby, for and on behalf of Itsu Limited.

NHS Direct

The Health Protection Agency has suggested that any customers who visited Itsu Piccadilly (and the Millennium Hotel) on November 1st should call NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

We have tried to do this and found it very difficult to get through.

The HPA website assures the people to whom this applies, that the risks are extremely low and only if contamination from Mr Litvinenko was taken into the body.

We have been told that on getting through to the NHS, you will be asked a few simple questions designed to establish whether you were in close contact with Mr Litvinenko on that day.

We understand that this is a precautionary measure taken to help allay any fears customers may have and that the general customers of Itsu should not be alarmed in any way.

You can read the HPA notice by clicking here [below].

Thank you.

http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/news/articles/press_releases/2006/251106_pol210.htm

HPA Update Statement

25 November 2006

Update Statement on the Public Health Issues related to Polonium-210

The Health Protection Agency is providing expert advice on the public health issues surrounding the death of Mr Alexander Litvinenko. Following the results of further assessments we are updating our advice.

Some small quantities of radioactive material have been found in a small number of areas at the Itsu sushi restaurant at 167 Piccadilly, London , and in some areas of the Millennium Hotel, Grosvenor Square , London , and at Mr Litvinenko's home in Muswell Hill.

We are therefore asking anyone who was in the Itsu restaurant, or who was in The Pine Bar or the restaurant of the Millennium Hotel on 1 November to contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647 where they will be given advice on what to do.

The substance found is Polonium-210. The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, is issuing advice to GPs and hospitals on the risks and clinical implications of exposure to Polonium-210.

We want to reassure the public that the risk of having been exposed to this substance remains low. It can only represent a radiation hazard if it is taken into the body – by breathing it in, by taking it into the mouth, or if it gets into a wound. It is not a radiological hazard as long as it remains outside the body. Most traces of it can be eliminated through handwashing, or washing machine and dishwasher cycles.

The Agency is also investigating the clinical areas of the two hospitals where Mr Litvinenko was treated.

The police investigation continues. We will provide further public information as appropriate.

* Further health advice on Polonium-210

Note to Editors

1. Further information is available on www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk and www.hpa.org.uk

Captions by Associated Press
A man walks past the Japanese Restaurant Itsu in Piccadilly, in central London Monday Nov. 20, 2006. Col. Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB and Federal Security Service (FSB) agent, who had been looking into the killing of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, told reporters earlier this week that he fell ill Nov. 1 following a meal at the sushi restaurant with a contact who claimed to have details about the murder. Litvinenko, was under armed guard at a London hospital, in a "serious but stable" condition, the hospital said. Police said a specialist crime unit began an investigation Friday into how Litvinenko may have been poisoned. Glenn Edwards, operations manager at Itsu sushi restaurant where Litvinenko had dined, told the AP that detectives had arrived at the restaurant Saturday asking for closed circuit television footage. He added there was no link between the restaurant's food and the poisoning. (AP Photo/John Stillwell/PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE	Itsu, 167 Picadilly, London
This photo released by the family of Alexander Litvinenko shows former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko in his hospital bed, at the University College Hospital in central London Monday Nov. 20, 2006. Col. Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB and Federal Security Service agent, was under armed guard at a London hospital, where he is fighting for his life after apparently being given the deadly poison thallium _ a toxic metal found in rat poison. Litvinenko, who had been looking into the killing of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, told reporters last week that he fell ill on Nov. 1 after a meal at a sushi restaurant with an Italian contact who claimed to have details about the murder. AP Photo/Family Hand Out) NO SALES	Italian accademic Mario Scaramella is seen in this 2006 photo taken in Naples, southern Italy, made available Saturday, Nov. 25, 2006. Scaramella confirmed that he met with former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko at a sushi bar in London on Nov. 1 before the former agent was taken to an emergency room suffering from stomach pains and nausea. Litvinenko died in hospital on Nov. 23 by apparent poisoning. Investigators are trying to piece together details of what company he was keeping in his last days and who might have wanted to kill him. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
An unidentified man unlocks the front door of Itsu sushi restaurant in London, Saturday Nov. 25, 2006, which is part of investigations into the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who died Thursday Nov.24, from radioactive poisoning. The last days of Litvinenko are being traced, including this Itsu sushi restaurant where he ate a bowl of soup, to establish the point where he was poisoned to death. British authorities on Saturday Nov. 25, asked other visitors who ate at the restaurant on Nov. 1, to contact them. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)	Italian academic Mario Scaramella is seen in this 2006 photo taken in Naples, southern Italy, and made available Saturday, Nov. 25, 2006. Scaramella confirmed that he met with former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko at a sushi bar in London on Nov. 1 before the former agent was taken to an emergency room suffering from stomach pains and nausea. Litvinenko died in hospital on Nov. 23 by apparent poisoning. Investigators are trying to piece together details of what company he was keeping in his last days and who might have wanted to kill him. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
A British police officer walks out of Itsu sushi restaurant in London, Saturday Nov. 25, 2006, which is part of investigations into the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who died Thursday Nov.24, from radioactive poisoning. The last days of Litvinenko are being traced, including this Itsu sushi restaurant where he ate a bowl of soup, to establish the point where he was poisoned to death. British authorities have asked other visitors who ate at the restaurant on Nov. 1, to contact them. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)	Forensic officers, remove material from a closed sushi bar, in London Friday Nov. 24, 2006, that former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko had lunch with Italian academic Mario Scaramella, before he fell sick. The former Russian spy who died in London was poisoned with a radioactive substance, the British government said Friday. In a dramatic deathbed statement, Alexander Litvinenko blamed a "barbaric and ruthless" Russian President Vladimir Putin for the attack. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)