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Litvinenko Killed 'After Second Poisoning'

Scotland Yard detectives believe Alexander Litvinenko had been poisoned twice, the counsel for the Metropolitan Police has told the inquiry into the former spy's death.

Richard Horwell QC said there was a failed attempt to kill him on 16 October 2006, followed a fortnight later by a successful attempt when polonium-210 was dropped into his tea at the Millennium hotel in London's Mayfair.

Mr Horwell, who was speaking as the public phase of the inquiry draws to a close, said police want to see the two prime suspects, Russians Andrei Lugavoi and Dmitry Kovtun, stand trial for murder.

"On the evidence, there can be no doubt that Litvinenko was unlawfully killed and the science is such that the finger points unwaveringly to Lugovoi and Kovtun," he said.

The two suspects have previously claimed Mr Litvinenko may have committed suicide, but Mr Horwell said: "(He) had everything to live for and was in good health. Devoted to his family and immensely proud of his son.

"Polonium is an exceptionally rare substance ... which is very difficult to acquire.”

On claims by the pair that Mr Litvinenko was involved in the polonium trade, Mr Horwell said: "There is no evidence to support this fanciful theory ... it's the claim of desperate men and must be ignored.

"However, many state honours Putin might pin to Lugovoi's chest for services to the motherland or however many times Kovtun promises to blow apart this inquiry, they have no credible answer to the science. It is untainted and damning."

Mr Horwell told the inquiry that many lives were put at risk when the two suspects decided to use a deadly radioactive poison on Mr Litvinenko.

"Anyone who arranges to bring polonium-210 into a city centre does so without any regard for human life," he said.

Addressing claims by the counsel for the Litvinenko family, Ben Emmerson QC, that the murder was effectively "a nuclear attack on the streets of London", Mr Horwell said: "That claim is justified.

"There is evidence that polonium may have been used in the past as the murder weapon of choice on other victims and had it not been identified on this occasion it would doubtless have been used again in the future."

Earlier Mr Litvinenko's widow said the six-month, London-based hearing had "shone a light" on the lengths the Kremlin will go to silence dissent.

Marina Litvinenko told Sky News she does not believe the two men accused of killing her husband will be brought to justice anytime soon, but said the inquiry has helped ensure the truth is more widely known.

"I knew from the very beginning the people who committed this crime will never be extradited from Russia. My satisfaction is bringing knowledge of this crime to people who have been waiting," she said.

Mr Litvinenko died in London's University College Hospital in November 2006, three weeks after being poisoned by the deadly radioactive isotope polonium-210.

A former senior member of Russia's security service, the FSB, Mr Litvinenko publicly accused his spy masters of corruption, before fleeing his homeland and seeking political asylum in the UK.

During his time in Britain, he became an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and accused his former boss, Russian President Vladimir Putin, of leading a mafia state.

His widow also claimed he became a paid informant for the UK's Secret Intelligence Service, MI6.

The public inquiry into Mr Litvinenko's death, chaired by High Court Judge Sir Robert Owen, has heard much of the evidence UK authorities gathered during their criminal investigation into the poisoning.

The investigation determined that Lugovoi and Kovtun, two former Russian spies, were prime suspects in the murder.

Both have been charged by UK prosecutors in absentia, but the Russian government has refused to extradite them to Britain to stand trial.

The public inquiry was told that Lugovoi and Kovtun had a business meeting with Mr Litvinenko on 1 November 2006, the day investigators believe he was poisoned.

CCTV footage showed the men arriving for the meeting at the Millennium hotel and both were seen in the toilet where police believe the poison was prepared, before being put into Mr Litvinenko's tea.

Sir Robert Owen is likely to give his formal ruling on the evidence he has heard towards the end of this year.