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UK Judge Says No Reason to Reopen Inquest Into Litvinenko's Death

© REUTERS / Toby MelvilleMarina Litvinenko, (R) widow of Alexander Litvinenko, poses with a copy of The Litvinenko Inquiry Report with her son Anatoly (L) during a news conference in London, Britain, January 21, 2016.
Marina Litvinenko, (R) widow of  Alexander Litvinenko, poses with a copy of The Litvinenko Inquiry Report with her son Anatoly (L) during a news conference in London, Britain, January 21, 2016. - Sputnik International
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The chairman of the UK inquiry into the the death of Alexander Litvinenko has claimed there are no grounds for reopening the inquest into the case.

LONDON (Sputnik) — There is no reason to reopen the inquest into the death of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko, British judge Robert Owen, the chairman of the UK inquiry into the case, said Tuesday.

"Further to his statement on 21 January 2016, Sir Robert Owen has now confirmed his provisional view that there is no sufficient reason for the inquest to be reopened," Owen's office said in a statement.

On January 21, Owen released a report, claiming that Russian authorities were responsible for the 2006 killing of Litvinenko.

An art gallery visitor looks at a painting showing Alexander Litvinenko - Sputnik International
UK Litvinenko Report Has 'No Reliable Evidence' - US Expert
The report concluded that Litvinenko’s former colleagues Dmitry Kovtun and Andrey Lugovoy deliberately poisoned him with polonium-210. The inquiry, however, failed to prove that the polonium-210 used to poison the former intelligence officer came from Russia.

Litvinenko moved from Russia to the United Kingdom in 2000. He died in 2006, three weeks after drinking tea with Kovtun and Lugovoy in London.

Lugovoy has previously argued British experts ruled out his involvement in the murder after he had passed a lie detector test.

The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the UK inquiry as politicized and lacking transparency, and said it would have an adverse effect on Moscow-London relations.

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