Scaramella Interview Missing From Tuesday's Papers

Paolo Guzzanti has published the Italian text of an interview he recently conducted with his friend Mario Scaramella, who is currently under observation in a London hospital after being poisoned by polonium-210.

In the interview, Scaramella says the dose of polonium which was administered to him was six times the amount considered necessary in order to be fatal. He states that although he feels well, has no symptoms at present, and his life is not immediately at risk, the doctors have told him it will be at least 5 months before it is known precisely what future course his condition will take, and that even if he survives those 5 months, he will have to consider himself a cancer patient all his life, will have to submit to chemotherapy and avoid exposing himself to sunlight.

Of his recent revelations concerning figures in political life in Italy and Russia, Scaramella says (my translation):

“I can say that all my interviews with Litvinenko, whether related to the work of the Mitrokhin commission or quite extraneous to it took place in front of a television camera and in the presence of myself and Maxim, Alex’s brother, who did the interpreting. In these interviews, Alexander spoke Russian on a freewheeling basis and for many hours.

And why are these interviews coming out precisely now?

“For a very obvious reason: I believe that the United Kingdom investigators bust be able to have every useful element at their disposal in order to find our assassins. It’s clear that if Litvinenko was poisoned, and if I was posioned, that means something: you don’t need a Nobel prize to understand that someone has tried to close our mouths, and that would make a motive, don’t you think?”

Today a rumour has begun to circulate in the press that Litvinenko was probably a vulgar blackmailer. Comments?

“It’s obvious: the prospect of the publication of possible revelations immediately releases a campaign to destroy his credibility: if the man who up till yesterday was a victim and a martyr starts to talk, even when dead, he must at least have been a blackmailer.”

What else do you wish for?

“To have the time to nail down by the use of the truth alone all those who are killing us, whether physically or in terms of our image.”

Will The British Press run the story of Scaramella interview tomorrow? Unlikely. In the British media, Scaramella is becoming a non-person already, and Litvinanko's revelations are definitely not of interest.