Litvinenko 'not an MI6 agent'
Marina Litvinenko at her husband's funeral last year
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Sunday, 28, Oct 2007 12:58
The widow of murdered former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko has dismissed claims that her husband worked for MI6.
Mr Litvinenko died on November 23rd of radiation poisoning in what the crown prosecution service believes was a murder committed by Andrei Lugovoi.
The investigation into his death, which sparked public health fears in London and led to strains between the British and Russian governments, has been followed closely by media in both countries. Recently the Russian media has carried reports that Mr Litvinenko was an agent of the overseas intelligence service MI6.
Such reports are "nonsense", Mrs Litvinenko told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper today.
"He was a critic of the Russian government but he spoke out openly. He was well-known. And his special area was organised crime, not intelligence," she explained.
"He was not the kind of person who would be useful to the British security services."
Her claims were backed up by family friend Alex Goldfarb, who has written a book with Mrs Litvinenko about Mr Litvinenko's death.
"Litvinenko was living in England. I don't see what value he could have been to the British security services. Putin's regime believes that there is a British conspiracy against Russia and that Russian exiles in England are working for the security services. They are paranoid."