Murder most mystifying

AN OBSCURE refugee from Russia when he died in London in 2006, Alexander Litvinenko became famous only after his death. The former security policeman mixed with murky figures. He had received an allowance from a fugitive Russian tycoon, Boris Berezovsky. He was advising Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service in an Anglo-Spanish operation which investigated links between Russian gangsterdom and the Kremlin’s inner circle. He had made lurid allegations about Vladimir Putin’s private life and about the way the Russian leader had gained power. Any of those could have a bearing on his agonising fate—poisoning with polonium.

Mr Litvinenko’s widow Marina has fought a dogged, dignified and cash-strapped battle for a public inquiry into the case. The government blocked this, citing unspecified national-security concerns. But it flip-flopped in July 2014 as Britain’s relations with Russia iced over. The inquiry began this week. Mrs Litvinenko’s lawyer spoke of an “act of nuclear terrorism” on London’s streets.