Two dominant defect levels with activation energy Ev + 0·19 eV and Ev + 0·36 eV (CsCi or Ci Oi complex) are created in the lower part of the bandgap after low energy electron irradiation of boron doped float zone or Czochralski silicon. The Ev + 0·19 eV level is associated to the donor state of the divacancy (V0/+ 2), since the annealing behaviour of this level in the temperature range between 250 and 400°C is in good agreement with the behaviour reported for the divacancy in silicon. However, there still exists some controversy in the literature about the exact position of the donor level V0/+ 2 for which values are reported at around Ev + 0·20 eV or Ev + 0·24 eV. This paper also reports on the transformation of the Ev + 0·19 eV level appearing immediately after electron irradiation in p type silicon to the Ev + 0·24 eV level after annealing at low temperatures for several days.