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Alexander Litvinenko's father retracted 'Putin poison' claim, inquiry told
Alexander Litvinenko's father retracted 'Putin poison' claim, inquiry told
(35 minutes later)
Alexander Litvinenko told his father "Daddy, Putin has poisoned me" from his deathbed, the inquiry into the spy's killing has heard.
Walter Litvinenko, the father of the late Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, spoke of his regret at blaming Russian President Vladimir Puttin for his son’s death, an inquiry has heard.
In a statement to police in 2006 Walter Litvinenko told how his son was struggling to speak when he visited him in hospital but accused Russian president Vladimir Putin over his death - a claim the Kremlin has always denied.
Mr Litvinenko was said to have told his father: "Daddy, Putin has poisoned me."
Mr Litvinenko senior said: "He said Putin was a man with a perverted mind, a very dangerous man."
He said his son told him: "Daddy, be careful."
However, Mr Litvinenko senior later spoke of his regret at blaming Mr Putin and the Russian government for the killing and retracted the allegations he had made against them.
In an interview with Russian television in 2012, he described his son as a "traitor".
Mr Litvinenko, 43, died nearly three weeks after drinking tea laced with polonium-210 in London in November 2006.
Mr Litvinenko, 43, died nearly three weeks after drinking tea laced with polonium-210 in London in November 2006.
Police concluded that the fatal dose was probably consumed during a meeting with Dmitri Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi at a hotel in central London.
That year, Mr Litvinenko senior told police that his son had told him “Daddy, Putin has poisoned me” on his deathbed. The Kremlin has always denied the claim.
British authorities later decided that the pair - who deny involvement - should be prosecuted for murder.
However, he later said he regretted blaming the Russian government and the president.
Today it was finally confirmed that Mr Kovtun would not give evidence after he withdrew at the 11th hour.
In an interview with Russian television in 2012, he described his son as a “traitor”.
The video link to Moscow was briefly activated to show the inquiry's official sat next to an empty chair. He said Mr Kovtun had told him he would not be taking part.
More to follow
Mr Kovtun had initially refused to co-operate with the inquiry but then secured a four-month delay in the proceedings (AP) Inquiry chairman Sir Robert Owen criticised Mr Kovtun and Russian authorities. He said: "This unhappy sequence of events drives me to the conclusion either that Mr Kovtun never in truth intended to give evidence and that this has been a charade.
"Alternatively, if he has at some stage been genuine in his expressed intention to give evidence, obstacles have been put in the way of his doing so.
In a statement given to the Inquiry, Mr Kovtun claimed he had ended up in the bar at the Millennium Hotel with Mr Litvinenko and Mr Lugovoi "completely by chance".
He said Mr Litvinenko had "flopped down" at their table before grabbing a teapot and pouring himself some tea.
"He gulped down two cups and then had a coughing fit. In the course of the conversation he coughed constantly and wiped his mouth with a napkin."
Mr Kovtun added that he had the impression that Mr Litvinenko had "mental health problems" and was "driven to despair", adding: "He was prepared to do anything to achieve his financial goals."
He insisted that he he "knew nothing about Polonium 210 until Mr Litvinenko's death".
