Radioactive material found at Hey Jo

Hey Jo, the West End bar owned by smoking ban critic Dave West, was contaminated with radioactive polonium210 around the time that former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned, sources at Westminster City Council have confirmed.

It is understood that police informed Westminster City Council that either Litvinenko, who died after he was poisoned with the radioactive substance, or his alleged murderer had visited West's establishment.

Low traces of polonium were found on seating, cushions and cubicle doors at West's club soon after Litvinenko died last November. These have subsequently been cleared up, by either using strong cleaning agents or by being painted over.

Westminster Council has revealed that nearly 50 venues had been checked for contamination, including five buses, eight aircraft, eight hotels and seven restaurants.

Hey Jo owner Dave West, who has defied the recently-introduced smoking ban in his venue, told thepublican.com​ that four traces of the radio active material were found at his bar.

"It was a long time ago and it was cleared up very quickly. It was so small it was nothing to worry about."

West said the police believe the man reported to have administered the polonium to Litvinenko must have visited his bar. "They said they'd traced him through a credit card transaction.

"We get a lot of Russians coming in here," he added.

The Times​ reported that Westminster Council spent £250,000 on environmental health staff to close and clear sites, and the Metropolitan Police spent nearly £1m on the subsequent investigation.