Russia was tracking killers of Alexander Litvinenko but UK warned it off'

[Peter Lemkin]

Post-9/11/01 transparency [long dying] is dead. Truth in most all important political [and all Deep Political] matters is to be buried deep and forever, from here on out; replaced by some variant/combination of 'no comment'; 'sorry, National Security'; or 'none of your ****ing business'.

[Magda Hassan]

If he were really just done in by the evil Ruskies they'd be only too happy to have an open inquest. Seems that is not the case and they have some secrets of their own to hide. Now what could they be....?

[David Guyatt]

How interesting...

Exclusive: Murdered spy Alexander Litvinenko gave MI6 secret briefings about key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin




Secret services allegedly asked the late spy to provide 'expert analysis' on a confidential Foreign Office report that detailed a visit to London by the second most powerful figure in the Kremlin

TOM HARPER

INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER

Friday 29 November 2013

British security services handed Alexander Litvinenko a confidential government document that summarised private meetings held with a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, The Independent has learnt.

MI6 allegedly asked the late spy to provide "expert analysis" on a four-page confidential Foreign Office report that detailed a visit to London in 2000 by Sergei Ivanov who is now the second most powerful figure in the Kremlin.
The diplomatic telegraph known as a "DipTel" and circulated to British embassies around the world outlined private talks between Mr Ivanov at the time Russia's top security adviser and UK intelligence officials in Downing Street, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence.
Mr Litvinenko's relationship with British intelligence has been cited as a possible motive for his murder, and the documents provide fresh evidence of potentially close links between MI6 and the former KGB agent and arch-critic of President Putin. Mr Litvinenko fled Russia for Britain in November 2000 and died in 2006.
At the time of Mr Ivanov's trip, between 30 October and 1 November 2000, London and Moscow were as close as they had been for decades. The visit was described as the "first meeting between such senior security officials from Britain and Russia".
However, Britain's decision to harbour Russian dissidents such as Mr Litvinenko angered President Putin, and relations deteriorated dramatically when the spy was poisoned soon after meeting two fellow former KGB agents at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair. The two spies, Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun, both deny involvement in his death and Russia has angered Whitehall by refusing to extradite them for questioning in the UK.
Sir Robert Owen, the coroner investigating Mr Litvinenko's death, was due to publish some secret government documents which may have shed further light on the spy's links to MI6 and Russia's alleged role in his death. But he was overruled in the High Court on Wednesday after Foreign Secretary William Hague successfully won a judicial review of Sir Robert's decision. Mr Justice Goldring concluded that publishing the documents could cause a "risk of significant damage to national security" and outweighed the need for a "full and proper" inquest.
The coroner is due to respond to the ruling later today. But the official restrictions on certain information relating to Mr Litvinenko have not prevented the late spy's friend Yuri Felshtinsky revealing making more embarrassing claims.
In an updated version of Blowing Up Russia, which the Russian academic co-wrote with Mr Litvinenko in 2002, Mr Felstinsky wrote: "Among the many documents Alexander gave me in London in the beginning of 2003 was one that shows how close he had become to MI6. It relates to the visit of KGB-FSB general Sergei Ivanov to London.
"This four-page confidential document about the highly-sensitive visit ... was given to Alexander by MI6 for expert analysis."
The Independent has seen the "Diptel" in question. The Foreign Office memo outlines UK officials' thoughts of Mr Ivanov and an analysis of his positions on a range of topics, including global terrorism, Iran, China, and Nato.
Diplomats said the 60-year-old was "peddling the usual Russian arguments" on a range of subjects on which Moscow disagreed with London. The memo says Mr Ivanov "gave no ground on Iraq" and there was "no sign of a new approach to Chechnya".
"(He) reiterated Russia's negative view of Nato and saw little prospect of rapid improvement," it reads. "Although he loosened up over dinner, claiming that Russia was not trying to split Nato and implying that part of the problem was the difficulty of bringing the military along".
The Foreign Office noted "not much give on Iran" from Mr Ivanov, who "defended present Russian engagement and their involvement in nuclear co-operation" with the Islamic republic which was causing consternation in Western circles at the time.
During one dinner, a Russian official called "Chernov" is said to have launched a "diatribe" about the threat to "world security" posed by the internet. "He depicted the internet as the major global threat over the next 5-10 years," the memo says. Mr Ivanov later described Russian media legislation as "one of the most liberal in the world".
The memo reveals British officials said Mr Ivanov "came over well serious and authoritative, but tinged with humour", although the visit was marked by a "rigidity in the more formal meetings" and his juniors "were not encouraged to speculate".
Speaking from his home in the US, Mr Felshtinsky, a Russian historian, said: "I do not know what Alex did with this document but he told me it was given to him by MI6. I met Alex with his handler once in Piccadilly. He was a very tall gentleman."
Referring to the current legal impasse over the inquest, Mr Felshtinsky said: "I do not understand why there is a conspiracy of silence. Everyone knows Alex worked for MI6."
Last year, the inquest into Mr Litvinenko's death heard he was a "paid employee of MI6 with a dedicated handler whose pseudonym was Martin". It was also alleged that the spy he was supplying Spanish intelligence with information on Russia mafia activity in Spain.
Blowing Up Russia alleges that the 1999 bombings in Moscow that were officially attributed to Chechen terrorists were actually committed by the Russian security services and used by Moscow to justify a war in Chechnya that helped bring Mr Putin to power.
In 2007, Mikhail Trepashkin, who conducted an independent review of the 1999 bombings, said his Russian intelligence sources had told him that "everyone who was involved in the publication of the book Blowing up Russia' will be killed".
He also claimed three FSB agents made a trip to Boston to examine the possibility of assassinating Mr Felshtinsky. The Foreign Office declined to comment.
Sergei Ivanov: Hostile to the West, close to Putin
Sergei Ivanov is a veteran of Russia's security establishment and an old friend of President Vladimir Putin.
The 60-year-old met Mr Putin in Leningrad, where the two became friends in the local branch of the KGB.
He worked in intelligence for 18 years, first in the KGB and then in Russia's SVR foreign service, and was once allegedly expelled from Britain for spying activities.
Newspaper reports in Russia have claimed he also worked in Kenya with Vasily Kushchenko, the father of Anna Chapman, a Russian spy deported from the United States in 2010.
Mr Ivanov is often described as one of key "siloviki" a group of conservative ex-spies that have prospered under Mr Putin and who are hostile to the West. However, some analysts believe he is more liberal and maintains a political balance between the hawks and doves inside the Kremlin.
Former President Boris Yeltsin appointed Mr Ivanov secretary of the Russian Security Council placing him in charge of national security in November 1999. In March 2001, Mr Ivanov became Russia's first "civilian" Defence Minister.
Under Mr Putin he served as deputy Prime Minister and was tipped to become the next Russian President in 2008 before losing out to the liberal candidate, Dmitri Medvedev. However, Mr Ivanov became the latter's chief-of-staff and remained in his post when Mr Putin regained the presidency in 2012.
His oldest son, Alexander, struck and killed a 68-year-old woman while driving in 2005, though a criminal case against him was closed due to lack of evidence.
In December 2006, Mr Ivanov reportedly dismissed the importance of Mr Litvinenko's death. He told foreign correspondents in Moscow: "For us, Litvinenko was nothing. We didn't care what he said and what he wrote on his deathbed."

[Magda Hassan]

I see they've pulled Litvinenko's zombie body out to milk it for all its worth against Russia. So I think this might be useful.

10 Myths and Facts About Litvinenko

© AFP
Opinion10:51 28.01.2015(updated 11:03 28.01.2015)
Nikolai Gorshkov
1110

The first day of the semi-public inquiry into the 2006 death of Russian fugitive Alexander Litvinenko has produced a record volume of drivel from lawyers and journalists alike. Here is a selection of the most publicised myths about the case and some sobering facts.
Myth 1: Litvinenko was a Russian spy.
FACT: He was an officer in the organized crime department of the Russian Federal Security Service, an analogue of the UK Serious Crime Office or American FBI. He had nothing to do with spying for Russia anywhere in the world.
Myth 2: He was Sacked from the FSB for Exposing Corruption Within the Organisation.
FACT: He was sacked as he posed a conflict of interest after appearing on a Russian TV channel controlled by Boris Berezovsky, hiding behind a balaclava, and making allegations about a "plot" to kill his employer. The employer in question was Boris Berezovsky, for whom Litvinenko worked as a member of his security detail while being a serving officer of a state law enforcement agency, the FSB. In doing so, Litvinenko was in direct breach of his oath of allegiance to protect the interests of the state.


© RIA Novosti. Sergey Subbotin
Boris Berezovsky


Myth 3: Litvinenko was a Staunch and Tireless Fighter against Corruption.
FACT: When in March 1995 Moscow police attempted to interview Boris Berezovsky about the murder of his direct boss at the Russian Channel One TV station, Litvinenko used his FSB authority to shield Berezovsky from police inquiries. Berezovsky was suspected of having a dispute with the murdered Director General of Channel One about the use of advertising revenue.
Myth 4: Litvinenko Dictated his Death bed Statement Accusing President Putin of Having him Murdered to a "Family Friend" Alexander Goldfarb.
FACT: At the time of the incident Alexander Goldfarb was working for Boris Berezovsky as his PR manager. Mr. Berezovsky had a huge grudge against President Putin. Mr. Goldfarb appeared on all Western news outlets with commentary about the Litvinenko case. His role as Mr. Berezovsky's PR manager was not disclosed to the public.
MYTH 5: Litvinenko's "betrayal" greatly damaged Russia's security, which explains his "elimination" by the Russian secret service.
FACT: Arguably, the biggest damage to Russia's security was inflicted by Oleg Gordievsky, who, unlike Litvinenko, was a real spy. After his betrayal of Moscow's intelligence operations in the West back in 1985 Gordievskiy was tried in absentia and sentenced to capital punishment. He is alive and well living in England, and no attempts on his life have ever been reported.
Myth 6: Litvinenko was Killed because he was about to Expose Criminals at the top of Russian Leadership. He was Meeting his ex-FSB Colleagues to Obtain Incriminating Evidence.
FACT: Litvinenko met his ex-FSB colleagues to discuss setting up a business venture in the UK. Having fallen out with his employer Berezovsky, who had him smuggled out of Russia and helped him settle in Britain, Litvinenko was deeply in debt and was looking for a business opportunity to be able to pay for his 500 thousand pound London property (in 2006 prices).
Myth 7: The Polonium Allegedly used to Poison Litvinenko had put Thousands of Londoners at risk.
Fact: One has to swallow a certain amount of polonium for it to be lethal. The inquiry into Litvinenko's death was told that he had been poisoned not once but three times before the poison worked. Both suspects in the Litvinenko murder had allegedly contaminated themselves by accident. What more living proof does there need to be than to see them alive and kicking 8 years after the incident? This is sheer scare mongering by the British media and it's quite irresponsible on their part.
Myth 8: Mr. Litvinenko's Widow Expects the Inquiry to Establish the Complicity of the Russian State in the Murder of her Husband.
FACT: Mrs. Litvinenko has been arguing that her late husband had been working for the British secret service and that it had failed in its duty to protect him. If this is established, Mrs. Litvinenko would be entitled to compensation from the British state, which makes such an admission problematic. Hence, the British government's insistence that some evidence should be kept off limits to the public.
Myth 9: British Secret Service has Prima Facie Evidence of the Complicity of the Russian State in the Murder of Mr. Litvinenko.
FACT: This secret evidence in the form of a communications intercept provided by the US is said to be "inadmissible in a court of law", which turns it into nothing more than libel.
Myth 10: The Russian Suspects in the Litvinenko Case Would be Given a Fair Trial at a British Court.
FACT: The suspects have already been tried by British and Western media and declared guilty as charged. This alone is enough to have their case thrown out since a fair trial is no longer possible.

http://uk.sputniknews.com/opinion/201501...94849.html

[David Guyatt]

The usual Russia/Putin bashing to keep the populace on message for regime change.

[David Guyatt]

Exaro has a story on Litvinenko's death that contradicts the official story.

[Magda Hassan]

BOMBSHELL: French Counter-Terror Boss: I Have Proof Who Killed Litvinenko - It Wasn't Russia'

He says it was done by US and UK secret services and that he is going to go public with the evidence






Ricky Twisdale

9 hours ago | 6,743 75





Paul Barril

A former French official who has had senior roles in internal security and terror fighting has come forward with a remarkable statement: that he has documentary evidence proving that Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian spy who died from polonium poisoning, was killed by US and UK special services.
In a lengthy interview which is soon to be published, he goes further, saying that Litvinenko's murder was a special sevices operation designed to defame Russia and Vladimir Putin, that the notorious Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky was involved, and was himself killed by MI6 when he became a liability. He even says he knows the code name of the operation: "Beluga".
News of this broke on Sunday, March 27 in an article by William Dunkerley titled "Operation Beluga: A US-UK Plot to Discredit Putin and Destabilize the Russian Federation." In it Dunkerley said:

Renowned French security expert Paul Barril has let loose a bombshell: the existence of Operation Beluga, a covert Western intelligence scheme intended to undermine Russia and its leaders.
Is that what's behind much of the threatening rhetoric now going back and forth between the US and Russia?
Barril exposed Operation Beluga in a recent interview with Swiss businessman Pascal Najadi on the 2006 Alexander Litvinenko death case. Litvinenko was a reputed former spy who many believe was murdered with radioactive polonium on orders of Vladimir Putin.
Najadi says the interview drew out the converse revelation that Litvinenko was actually killed by "an Italian who administered the deadly polonium 210." What's more, he astonishingly says, the operation was carried out under the auspices of the US and UK.
In my books The Phony Litvinenko Murder and Litvinenko Murder Case Solved I've written about an Italian connection. But I can't confirm that Barril is talking about the same person.

Barril's allegations should be taken seriously. He is a renowned French intelligence figure who is known in France as "Superflic", which translates roughly as "Supercop." In the French public eye he is a kind of combination of Eliot Ness, James Bond, and William Bratton. For many years he was the second in command of the ski-mask wearing GIGN, the legendary elite French special forces unit, who top the "badass" rankings of special forces anywhere, and had other high ranking internal security positions in the French government.
Since leaving government service he has handled security issues as a private contractor for heads of state in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. He has been at the center of several controversies over the years, and is a well-known author. There is no question that he has access to intelligence at the state level which would give him insights into this affair.



The French GIGN is one of the most feared and lethal special forces units in the world





In the interview, Barril alleges that Berezovsky was working closely with MI6 and the CIA to discredit Russia and Putin, and that large sums from these agencies were passing through Berezovsky's hands to be paid to individuals to cooperate in these efforts. Barril says Litvinenko was one of Berezovsky's bag men, who passed funds on to others.
Barril has been in the big leagues of state security for 4 decades





From the interview:

"Russia has nothing to do with (the murder of Litvinenko). The case was fabricated from the beginning. Polonium was chosen as the poison because due to its production in Russia it would implicate Russia. The objective of the whole operation was to discredit president Putin and the FSB. It was done because Russia is blocking US interests around the world, especially in Syria. It was an attempt to weaken Putin's hold on power, to destabilize Russia."

In the interview, Barril mentions the outspoken Putin foe, financier William Browder, as being in close cooperation with Berezovsky in the discreditation efforts. He also says he is sure Berezovsky was murdered by his secret service handlers after they realized he was behaving erratically and had to be silenced so that he wouldn't give them away.
Barril has advised heads of state in the middle east, the gulf states in particular





Finally, he says he will make his evidence available to a public investigation of the affair if it is run by a credible individual. He suggests Carla del Ponte as a good choice to do it, because he is convinced she is not under the control of the CIA.
Barril's allegations are sure to raise further questions around the 2006 Litvinenko murder, which hit the headlines again in January, 2016, when a UK public inquiry into the affair failed to deliver a conclusive verdict.
The case is 10 years old, but still elicits widespread public interest due the spy-thriller ingredients of the murder mystery: spy - counterspy hijinks, radiation poisonings, accusations (which have been conclusively debunked) that Putin himself probably' ordered the murder, seedy nightclubs, a disgraced oligarch who ends up mysteriously dead in his bathroom, sobbing widows on the stand, preposterous politicized "show" trials, politicians grandstanding, and much more.
An accomplished murder mystery author would have trouble coming up with something this surreal.
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/bo...snt-russia

[David Guyatt]

Love the way he says he will make his evidence available to a public investigation IF it is run by a credible person. It speaks volumes about government fixes on inquiries and investigations into sensitive affairs.

[Magda Hassan]

Love the way he says he will make his evidence available to a public investigation IF it is run by a credible person. It speaks volumes about government fixes on inquiries and investigations into sensitive affairs.

Yes and interesting he mentions Carla Del Ponte as she was one of the people to life the lid on the organised organ harvesting happening in Kosovo. A nice little earner for the US buddies in their terrorist outfit the KLA.