While Marina made an impassioned plea that she wanted to know the truth of how her husband died, Mr. Goldfarb used the platform accorded him by The Henry Jackson Society: Russia Studies Centre to say that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, had “assumed dictatorial powers by falsifying elections.”

Mr. Goldfarb is not only the lead author of Death of a Dissident, which purports to tell the story of the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the return of the KGB but is also believed by many to have been the author of the note accusing Putin of being behind Litvinenko’s death. That “deathbed accusation” was the subject of headlines around the world and together with the photograph of a bald but clear-skinned Alexander Litvinenko in his hospital bed hooked up to an ECG monitor led to the bleakest period of Anglo-Russian relations in over 20 years. According to Walter Litvinenko, Alexander’s father, the photograph was staged with his son’s head being shaved. The world of course later thought it was hair loss due to the radiation which ultimately killed him.

Curious, because the photograph was released on November 17th and Alexander died on November 23rd. At the time of the photograph Alexander was thought to be suffering from Thallium poisoning. He fell ill at home on November 1st. Experts say hair loss from Thallium would only start after 14 days and it would have in no case been total by the date the photograph was taken.

The curious role of Mr. Goldfarb continues to unfold but I am glad I had the opportunity in the corridors of the Palace of Westminster to meet him and Marina. I felt nothing but sympathy for Litvinenko’s widow and I wish her to succeed in her quest for the truth. I fear she is not going to find it under the tutelage of Mr. Goldfarb however as he has his own agenda. I hope I am wrong.