Litvinenko Secret Files Examined

Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in 2006 after meeting Russian contacts

BBC

The judge due to preside over the inquest into the death of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko is to examine secret documents to decide whether more information can be made public.

Sir Robert Owen will look at the government files in a closed hearing.

He announced the plan at a pre-inquest legal review considering the scope of the inquest, due to start in May.

Litvinenko, 43, was poisoned in London in 2006 - allegedly at a meeting with two Russian former KGB contacts.

The UK government is seeking to prevent certain details relating to the case from being placed in open court for security reasons.

Ben Emmerson QC, lawyer for Litvinenko's widow Marina, has suggested this should be treated with the "greatest degree of scepticism" and seeks to conceal details of Mr Litvinenko's ties to MI6.

Sir Robert will examine a bundle of secret documents, in the company of counsel for Foreign Secretary William Hague, to decide if more can be made public on the government's reasons for wanting each of the documents kept secret.

It is not clear when the closed hearing to study the government files will take place.

Speaking at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on Wednesday, Sir Robert said: "I intend to conduct this inquest with the greatest possible degree of openness and transparency."

The UK government's public interest immunity (PII) application to exclude sensitive information is being opposed by lawyers for Litvinenko's widow as well as media organisations, including the BBC.

Sir Robert insisted he would subject the application to the "most stringent and critical examination", and that the inquest would be a "full, fearless and open investigation into the circumstances of Mr Litvinenko's death".