Russian ex spy's widow thanks British police

LONDON: Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko's wife thanked British police on Wednesday for their efforts in probing Russian links to his death, a spokesman said as detectives returned from Moscow.   

"I'm very grateful to Scotland Yard for a thorough investigation even if the Russians have put every obstacle in their way," Marina Litvinenko said, cited by Alexander Goldfarb, the late Kremlin critic's former spokesman.   

She claimed in particular that Russian authorities had hidden ex-Soviet army officer Dmitry Kovtun and ex-KGB officer Andrei Lugovoi "in a hospital under the pretext of radiation," to avoid them being questioned.   

"I believe the two individuals are suspects rather than witnesses," she said, cited by Goldfarb.   

The former spokesman said that Litvinenko's widow had confidence in the British government.

"I trust Tony Blair, who said no political or economic obstacle will stay in the way of the investigation," she said.   

The comments came after London's Metropolitan Police said the British officers had received "satisfactory co-operation" from the Russian authorities in their inquiries into Litvinenko's death by radiation poisoning.   

Nine officers were sent to Moscow a fortnight ago to quiz witnesses in connection with the death of Litvinenko, who died in a London hospital on November 23.   

Detectives interviewed two Russian men who met the Kremlin critic in a central London hotel on November 1, the day he fell ill. Nine members of staff from the Millennium Hotel have tested positive for polonium-210, the radioactive isotope which killed Litvinenko, though one has since been cleared. Litvinenko met with Kovtun and Lugovoi at the hotel.   

British and Russian investigators jointly questioned the men, both of whom deny any role in Litvinenko's killing. The British team were working under tight restrictions imposed by the Russian authorities and all questioning in Moscow had to be carried out through Russian prosecutors.   

"The team of Metropolitan Police officers who carried out a number of inquiries in Moscow into the death of Alexander Litvinenko have now returned to London," said the police force, which is also known as Scotland Yard.   

"The team have worked closely with the Prosecutor General's Office in Moscow and the team have thanked the office for its co-operation," it said.   

"The investigation continues and we are following all lines of inquiry."