Russian ex-KGB agent poisoned in London [audio 8min @9:18]

To readers of novels of Cold War espionage, the story of the former Russian spy currently clinging to life in a London hospital is reminiscent of the more complex works of John Le Carré. But this isn't fiction -- and the mystery of what brought Alexander Litvinenko to his hospital bed remains an especially perplexing real-life tale. Litvinenko is a former KGB agent who has been living in Britain for six years -- ever since he publicly criticized the Russian spy service, and later, President Vladimir Putin. Today, his Russian-exile friends are saying that Mr. Litvinenko's past may have finally caught up with him. Three weeks ago, he was allegedly poisoned when he ingested metal thallium, a chemical agent that causes a slow, painful death. Sunday Times journalist David Leppard is the only reporter who met with Mr. Litvinenko while he has been hospitalized. The CBC reached him in London.