Pressure on home secretary to hold an inquiry
A leading solicitor has called on the home secretary to hold an inquiry into the poisoning of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.
Writing in NLJ this week, Louis Flannery, partner and head of international arbitration at Stephenson Harwood, says the coroner has requested an inquest in two months’ time. Home Secretary Theresa May now faces a quandary about government materials relevant to the inquest but kept secret under a public interest immunity certificate.
“[The home secretary] must either accept that a public inquiry is now essential, or she must come up with other compelling reasons to refuse to hold an inquiry,” says Flannery.
Former KGB agent turned whistleblower Litvinenko died from radiation poisoning in London in 2006.
