The Litvinenko Inquiry

Part 6 | Chapters 1 to 8 | The polonium trail – events in October and November 2006
Gatwick and the time of the meeting that afternoon. I make it clear that that narrow
factual proposition is one that I am not able to accept. The evidence of Mr Lugovoy
and Mr Kovtun’s movements during this period is in fact fairly sketchy. As I have said,
there is no evidence of how they travelled from Gatwick to central London, or where
they may have gone or who they may have met on the way. There is no evidence as
to whether they in fact went to Mr Krgo’s café, or somewhere else entirely, after their
first arrival at the hotel. And there is no detailed evidence of how they travelled from
the hotel to Mr Reilly’s offices.
6.86 There is of course no positive evidence that Mr Lugovoy or Mr Kovtun acquired any
polonium 210 in London that morning. But the difficulty is that there is in fact only
limited evidence as to what they did, where they went and whom they met in the hours
following their arrival. In those circumstances, I cannot exclude, as Mr Emmerson’s
submission invites me to do, the possibility that they obtained polonium 210 from
some source in London between the time of their arrival at Gatwick and the meeting
with Mr Reilly later that day.
Meeting with Tim Reilly
6.87 At some point during the afternoon of 16 October 2006, a meeting took place between
Mr Lugovoy, Mr Kovtun, Mr Litvinenko and Mr Reilly. The meeting was held at
Mr Reilly’s offices at 25 Grosvenor Street, London.
6.88 Mr Litvinenko travelled into central London by bus that day. The bus on which he
travelled was subsequently identified and tested, with no contamination being found. 59
6.89 I have said a little about Mr Reilly and his relationship with Mr Litvinenko at paragraphs
4.130 – 4.133 above. I also described how Mr Litvinenko introduced Mr Lugovoy to
Mr Reilly as a contact who might be able to assist Erinys in securing business with
Gazprom, and how the three men first met in June or July 2006.
6.90 Mr Reilly gave detailed evidence about the meeting on 16 October. 60 The basic facts
can be stated fairly shortly:
a. It seems likely that the meeting had been pre-arranged, either earlier that morning
or, more probably, before that 61
b. There was some uncertainty about the precise timing of the meeting. Mr Reilly
said that it was a morning meeting, 62 but that cannot be right. There is clear
evidence that Mr Lugovoy, Mr Kovtun and Mr Litvinenko went to the Piccadilly
itsu after the meeting, and that they were there at about 4.20pm (see below).
Mr Reilly said that the meeting took less than an hour. 63 It would seem, therefore,
that the meeting started at about 3.00pm
c. The meeting took place in the boardroom of Mr Reilly’s offices
59
Mascall 9/83-86; 9/89-90. See paragraphs 6.21-6.24 above for discussion regarding the value of such
findings.
60
Reilly 10/80-119
61
Reilly 10/80; 10/83-84
62
Reilly 10/83
63
Reilly 10/95
125