British Detectives fly to Moscow

British detectives have been granted visas by the Russian Embassy in London to visit Moscow in order to investigate the murder of journalist and ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko.

Litvinenko died in mysterious circumstances on November 23rd after being poisoned by a radioactive substance, polonium 210, on November 1st. From his deathbed Litvinenko spoke out against Putin, whom he had formerly criticised over a number of issues such as Russia's involvement in Chechnya, and accussed the Russian premier of having a hand in his assassination.

The Kremlin have denied all involvement in the murder and have promised to co-operate fully with the British investigation team. The detectives are keen to speak to a number of people who met with Litvinenko on the day he fell ill, including Andrei Lugovoy, a former KGB agent, whom Litvinenko met with at the Millenium Hotel in London.