According to a London Web site, This Is London, passengers have been asked to come forward for possible testing, after radiation traces were found on two BA planes linked to the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.
The BA 767 planes operate on routes within Europe and up to 800 passengers on four flights may have been affected.
A statement from the airline said: "BA has been advised that three of its Boeing 767 short haul aircraft have been identified by the UK Government as part of the investigation into the death of Alexander Litvinenko.
"The airline was contacted last night by the Government. It has taken the three B767s out of service to enable forensic examination to be carried out.
"The initial results of the forensic tests, which was confirmed late this afternoon, has shown very low traces of a radioactive substance onboard two of the three aircraft.
"British Airways has been advised that this investigation is confined solely to these three B767 aircraft, which will remain out of service until further notice.
British Airways said they had been advised the risk to public health is low.
Passengers from the following flights are being asked to come forward:
• BA875 Moscow-Heathrow on October 25 - aircraft number GBNWX
• BA872 Heathrow-Moscow on October 28 - aircraft number GBNWX
• BA873 Moscow-Heathrow on October 31 - aircraft number GBNWB
• BA874 Heathrow-Moscow on November 3 - aircraft number GBZHA
The flights would have each been carrying up to 200 passengers.
On November 24, 2004, a former (?) Russian KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi and his accomplice "Volodya", aka "Vyacheslav", said in an interview with Moscow radio "Echo Moskvy"
(in Russian) that they had flown to London on October 31 and returned to Noscow on November 3. This is one of the planes contaminated by radioactivity. It is impossible to contaminate the plane FROM Moscow, BA873 Moscow-Heathrow on October 31 - aircraft number GBNWB, with radioactivy received in London.
Before mainstream press stated writing about Mr Livivenko's poisoning late in the evening, November 18, 2006, the Chechenpress news agency quoted Mr Livinenko saying that Lugovoi had been arrested in 2001 on a false charge and was released from prison in 2002 presumably because he had agreed to work for the FSB as a secret agent and even killer. The late Mr Litvinenko also said that Lugovoi assembled since his release from prison a private capital of over US$ 1,000,000 which is absolutely impossible in Putin's Russia without collaborating with the FSB.
Mr Litvinenko started reporting about his poisoning by the FSB on the Chechepress on November 11, 2006. The Chechenpress has no English site any more but the Kavkaz Center English Service started reporting about Mr Litvinenko's poisoning on November 12, 2006.
The mainstream press kept a mum for 6 days. Up till now, no mainstream newspaper or news agency ever explained to its readers the reason of the complete silence in coverage of the poisoning during this time period.
Dmitriy Orlov
KC
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