Pilots asked to help in spy case

Air New Zealand pilots staying at the Millennium Hotel in London where former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko ate the day he fell ill have been asked by the National Health Service to come forward if they saw the victim or any "related activity".

Small quantities of the radioactive material that killed the Russian have been found at the hotel's sushi restaurant and some other areas.

Airline Pilots Association president Mark Rammell said six Air NZ pilots would usually be staying at the hotel on any night of the week.