A spy in our midst (From Haringey Independent)

A spy in our midst

4:34pm Wednesday 29th November 2006

• Print
• Email
• Share

Muswell Hill may be more than 1,500 miles from Moscow, but former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died last week, was a resident. PETER STEBBINGS finds out who in Muswell - if anyone - knew who Mr Litvinenko really was, and how it was he ended up living there

The photo of 43-year-old Alexander Litvinenko, bereft of hair, gaunt, lying prone in a hospital bed, is likely to be one of the enduring images of the year. But despite his picture being splashed across newspapers around the world, only belatedly did it emerge the former spy had been living in a non-descript house in Osier Crescent, Muswell Hill, with his family.

Haringey police has carried out a risk assessment of Mr Litvinenko's wife, Marina, and their 12-year-old son - standard procedure when a family member has apparently been a target. Metropolitan Police will not comment on anything to do with the case, which is being investigated by the Met's new Counter Terrorism Command, formed from a merger of its Special Branch and Anti-Terrorist Branch.

Mr Litvinenko came to Britain six years ago, via Turkey, seeking political asylum. A former KGB colonel, Mr Litvinenko worked for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor agency to the KGB. He subsequently sought British citizenship, changed his name to assume a new identity and was recently issued a British passport. This is one reason why apparently few neighbours knew who Mr Litvinenko really was.

Dr Andres Virchis, the consultant haematologist at Barnet Hospital, treated Mr Litvinenko when he was admitted on November 3 with what was thought to be a simple case of gastroenteritis - inflammation of the stomach and intestines. He had already been ill for two days by that time.

Dr Virchis revealed the lengths to which Mr Litvinenko went to conceal his past.

He said: "He was actually about to be discharged on November 7 because he was suffering just diarrhoea and vomiting. Then we got the result of a test which revealed a bug that needed treatment. That was the first time he said who he was and wondered if he could have been infected with this on purpose.

"He mentioned that he had heard of the bug before and of potential other cases of people being purposely infected, and he wondered if that had happened to him. Knowing who he was, there was some concern - but it was just a concern. It wasn't until about November 10 or 11 that it became clear this was not just gastroenteritis: he was becoming more and more ill, his hair began to fall out and his blood-counts were beginning to drop. That was when it became very clear there was more to this than meets the eye.

"He and his family became increasingly concerned that there was something seriously amiss."

Although it appears Mr Litvinenko's attempts to escape his former life were ultimately unsuccessful, it seems he did enough not to arouse the suspicions of neighbours. Last Friday morning, only 12 hours after University College London Hospital (UCLH) announced Mr Litvinenko's death, the majority of people living in the same road as him were baffled as to why a small army of television and newspaper reporters were camped on their doorstep in the rain.

Mr Litvinenko's house stood apparently empty, a handful of policemen on hand to prevent reporters from knocking on the door. In a front window was draped a large England flag; on the door an England sticker. A television reporter at the house wondered if it was all part of the ruse'.

One neighbour, who lives only a few doors along from Mr Litvinenko's house, said: "I had no idea who he was until I saw him on the news. I used to see him with his wife and son, but really had no idea who it was. It's amazing to think a Russian spy has been living only a few doors away all this time. I did think he could be Russian, and then when I saw him on the TV it all fell into place."

It was a sentiment echoed by many others living nearby.

But there were hints Mr Litvinenko was not your average neighbour.

One woman living in Osier Crescent said: "I knew he had been granted political asylum, but I didn't know he was ex-KGB. My overwhelming feeling is sorrow for the son - for him to lose his father in this way, it's horrendous. The family are part of the community."

Another neighbour recalled: "I didn't know who he was until I saw him on television, but a couple of years ago there was a petrol bomb thrown at the house. We just thought it was thugs."

Haringey police have confirmed the petrol bomb incident, but say no special protective measures had been in place to protect Mr Litvinenko, and would only have been done so had there been a specific threat. When people are thought to be in imminent danger, a panic alarm or police hotline is sometimes installed. No such facility had been installed in Mr Litvinenko's home, a Haringey police spokesman said.

Why or how Mr Litvinenko ended up in Muswell Hill is not clear. One Sunday newspaper claims his house is owned by Boris Berezovsky, a friend of Mr Litvinenko's and an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr Berezovsky, a wealthy businessman, also fled Russia and sought asylum in Britain. The newspaper's claims cannot be substantiated.

There are other Russian speakers living in the same road, including friends of Mr Litvinenko, but there is no Russian community to speak of in Muswell Hill or the west of Haringey. There is a Russian and Ukrainian food shop, Dacha, in Aylmer Road, in the Haringey side of East Finchley. A shop assistant said Mr Litvinenko's wife would often buy goods at the shop, and Mr Litvinenko would sometimes come as well. "He was a very nice person," said the assistant.

The Trade Delegation of the Russian Federation, formerly the Soviet trade delegation, is in Highgate West Hill, Highgate, two miles away from Mr Litvinenko's home. There, the Haringey-Russian connection seems to end, although Ken Gay, of the Hornsey Historical Society, said: "I do seem to remember Boris Yeltsin Russian President from 1991-99 coming to Muswell Hill on a visit, this was before he took power. I think he visited a bank, though I'm really not sure."

• Print
• Email
• Share