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POISONED former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko WAS murdered by radioactive tea, it was revealed yesterday.

Scotland Yard detectives have quarantined cups and saucers which show signs of being heavily contaminated with polonium 210 from the Pines Bar at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair, Central London.

They are convinced that is where Litvinenko was slipped the fatal dose in a cup of tea during a meeting with former KGB colleague Andrei Lugovoi and his business partner Dmitri Kovtun.

Seven bar staff who served them have been sent home showing signs of radiation poisoning. Colleagues say four are already suffering from a "flu like" illness.

A senior Counterterrorism source said: "It's now a near certainty Mr Litvinenko was poisoned by having polonium 210 slipped into his drink at the hotel, probably while distracted by a phone call or other interruption. The contaminated staff are those who cleared up the crockery and took it to the kitchens.

"We've found a cup almost certainly the one poisoned as it has such a high radiation read out.

"We think the cup contaminated other crockery that was placed in the same dishwasher. It is a shocking thing for the workers to learn."

The bar staff should recover in the short term but have a "very small" increased risk of cancer in the long term.

About 250 other guests who drank and dined at the hotel on the same day are being offered screening to see if they have been affected.

Police have ruled out the Itsu restaurant in Piccadilly as the place where Mr Litvinenko was poisoned. He went there after the hotel meeting to rendezvous with Italian lawyer Dr Mario Scaramella who is also now suffering from the effects of radiation.