The former Russian intelligence officer charged with the murder of Alexander Litvinenko was in London three weeks before the fatal poisoning took place, it was claimed yesterday.

Andrei Lugovoy, who is now facing an extradition request from Britain to stand trial for the murder of Litvinenko, was seen in Piccadilly on October 12 last year. Litvinenko fell ill on November 1 after meeting Mr Lugovoy and Dmitry Kov-tun, a former Russian army officer, at a sushi restaurant in London. However, the police appeared to be unaware of Mr Lugovoy’s presence in London on October 12, Yury Felshtinsky, a close friend of Litvinenko, said yesterday.

Mr Felshtinsky, who co-wrote a book with Litvinenko, accusing the Russian intelligence service of being responsible for setting off bombs at an apartment block in Moscow in 1999, said he clearly remembered bumping into Mr Lugovoy on October 12.

Mr Lugovoy has publicly acknowledged making three trips to London last October but claimed his first visit was on October 16. Mr Felshtinsky said the question of how Mr Lugovoy had made a previously undetected visit to London was potentially significant.

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