“Litvinenko became an agent who left the control of (British) special services and was killed. ...If not by the (British) intelligence services themselves, then under their control or with their connivance." --Former FSB operative Andrei Lugovoy, accused of poisoning former FSB-operative Alexander Litvinenko in November of 2006.
London,The United Kingdom--Even casual observers of this whole international incident have had ample reason to suspect that Alexander Litvinenko was working for British Intelligence, but the UK's Daily Mail has come forward with this possibility now as being a solid assertion.
It's hardly a stretch: in 2000, Litvinenko and his family were rapidly given political asylum after fleeing Vladimir Putin's government and a number of charges relating to what could best be described as treason against Russia. Were his FSB handlers suspicious or aware that he might have switched sides? By all appearances, this seems likely. Did he ever really defect? His UK recruiter? It could have been the man in the photo above, Sir John Scarlett who now heads MI6.
Reports today suggest he was recruited to the Secret Intelligence Service. Lugovoy reportedly claims that Mr Litvinenko tried to recruit him to supply information to MI6. The apparent revelation could provide the key to the 43-year-old's killing. Lugovoy claims Britain’s MI6 was behind the killing. (The Sun, 10.27.2007,http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article397108.ece)Lugovoy (a millionaire owner of a private security firm, soon expected to run for a seat in the Russian Parliament which will grant him immunity from extradition) has made this assertion almost from the start of this affair, beginning with the charges made against him by Scotland Yard, and underscoring the fact that this has always been a political case.
It seems that SIS/MI6 have been very busy these last-few-years. Just ask Paul Wolfowitz and Shaha Ali Riza, the former World Bank President's lover. Why would an unknown British subject like Ali Riza have a Pentagon security clearance? While it's uncertain whether Ali Riza is an operative for a Middle Eastern entity (or entities), it's even money that she's MI6. The issue of citizenship is often the most telling sign.
In the case of Litvinenko, he was granted his UK citizenship status just a few weeks before his assassination by elements still essentially unknown. This doesn't make the Home or Foreign Offices look very good. In both the case of Ali Riza and Litvinenko, British citizenship was granted, but what the State got in return is a mystery. A Sun story appears to be heading towards what that was exactly. Surely, we know some of this meant spying for MI6, providing information that only these particular individuals had access to.
Lugovoy's assertions of a set-up are now apparently being fleshed-out, and now being 'corroborated' by the recent story in The Daily Mail and The Sun:
It is understood that Sir John Scarlett, now the head of MI6 and once based in Moscow, was involved in recruiting him to the Secret Intelligence Service. The fact that the 43-year-old ex-Russian spy was actually working for Britain when he died could provide the key to his extraordinary killing. (thisislondon.co.uk, 10.27.2007)We know Litvinenko's story has an air of desperation to it, but what of Ali Riza? A number players within the world's intelligence community would certainly like to know--if they don't already. Remember that most operatives work more than one side, almost as a rule.
Their handlers generally assume this, so what you have is an ocean of double and triple agents running-amok throughout the globe, a criminal class in the service of the State. This is very much like a picture of intelligence between Russia and Britain exactly a century ago.
All this aside, Lugovoy is still claiming that Litvinenko attempted to recruit him into supplying MI6 with information, probably against Putin's FSB, as well as other remaining Russian energy 'oligarchs' (the poisoned 'ex-spy' was working for exiled energy oligarch, Boris Berezovsky) still residing in the country.
Oddly, all of this appears to be headed towards oil interests in the Caucasus region, and who controls the flow and ownership. Litvinenko appears to have been paid reasonably well for his ongoing activities, according to The Daily Mail, and one could imagine there were bonuses for specific-jobs being expedited:
The Daily Mail published an article Saturday saying Litvinenko who died in London in November 2006 "was receiving a retainer of around ? 2,000 [$4,000] a month from the British security services at the time he was murdered." ..."British secret services know the names of those who ordered and committed this crime," he said, adding that Litvinenko had repeatedly told him about his patrons in British secret services.$4,000 USD doesn't sound like much, until one looks at their own paycheck. Alexander was paid a very good stipend, so he must have been a useful asset. What he may not have known was that that meant being poisoned with polonium-210 just weeks after being granted British citizenship to create an international event meant to weaken Russia's standing in the world community for purposes of obtaining control of the oil fields of Baku, and pipeline-routes throughout the region by British oil interests.
(RIA Novosti, 10.28.2007, http://en.rian.ru/world/20071027/85680757.html)
Was Litvinenko a double-agent, still really serving FSB or other multifarious interests? It's even money, and in various currencies and denominations. His widow's comments should be met with suspicion.
