Labour Council finally agrees to fund radiation tests

1.45.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 11th May 2007

Haringey Council has finally agreed to fund a £15,000 survey to establish the extent of contamination by Polonium 210 at the home of the late Alexander Litvinenko in Osier Crescent, Muswell Hill.

The move follows weeks of sustained pressure from close residents, local MP Lynne Featherstone and her Lib Dem colleague, Cllr Martin Newton, in which the Labour Council failed to get grips with the problem and keep worried residents informed.

Cllr Martin Newton, Lib Dem Fortis Green wards comments:

"I welcome the fact that this survey is finally being undertaken and it will give the facts as to the extent of contamination and what is needed to clear it up, but this should have been done months ago. This Labour Council was wrong to just ignore close neighbours and not let them know what was happening."

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green adds:

"Given what we all hope is the unique nature of this incident, there has been a lot of buck-passing, and the Government should have done more to help out. The residents of the street don't deserve to be blighted, while various agencies argue what to do about it."