Claim by claim: Lugovoy's theories examined

The former KGB officer wanted over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko made sensational claims today that the British Secret Service was implicated in the poisoning and tried to recruit him to spy on President Putin.

At a dramatic press conference in Moscow, Andrei Lugovoy also said that Litvinenko was working for MI6 and tried to recruit him as a British spy.

“It is hard to escape the thought that Litvinenko had become an agent who had escaped the control of the special services and they took him out, if not the special services, then those under their control, or those cooperating with them,” Mr Lugovoy said.

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BACKGROUND

• Lies and the spies: I must have justice

• Shadowy ex-KGB major takes cover

• Of course the Russians did it. They’re the experts

• The Litvinenko File

• Litvinenko was told that he was marked for death

Related Links

• Claim by claim: Lugovoy's theories examined

• In Russia: Lugovoy revels in spotlight

• Russian secret service will not face questions

“The main role is played by the British special services and their agents,” he said. “The poisoning of Litvinenko couldn’t have taken place outside the control of Great Britain’s special services.”

Asked whether there was any evidence to support his accusations, Mr Lugovoy replied “there is”, but refused to elaborate.

Litvinenko was poisoned in a Central London hotel last November and the Crown Prosecution Service announced this month that they wished to charge Mr Lugovoy with his murder. The UK has formally requested the Russian’s extradition.

Mr Lugovoy, 40, again denied any knowledge of who had poisoned Litvinenko with polonium-210, but also pointed the finger at the Russian exile Boris Berezovsky or the Russian mafia, who he said Litvinenko had given evidence against to Spanish police.

The former KGB officer said the British special services “asked me to collect compromising information on President Putin”. He said they “thought I was a Russian James Bond who can infiltrate Russian nuclear facilities”.

Mr Lugovoy suggested that when he refused Litvinenko’s attempt to make him a British agent Litvinenko became “mad and crazy”.

Reading from a prepared statement, Mr Lugovoy accused the British authorities of setting him up to stop him revealing their attempts to turn him into a spy. “They thought in London that I would be silent because I would not be extradited,” he said.

Relations between the British and Russian governments have been strained by the UK’s request for Mr Lugovoy’s extradition. The Kremlin will not extradite Russian nationals, but they have asked for Mr Berezovsky to be extradited to Moscow.

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