Andrei Lugovoy's sensational accusation that British Secret Services were involved in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko led the main television news bulletins in Russia.

Much of his claims were taken at face value, with little attempt to analyse why MI6 would believe that the former KGB officer was interested in betraying his country and what they could have offered him as an inducement.

Mr Lugovoy gave no clue, saying only that he had evidence to support his allegations that he was willing to share with Russia's Prosecutor-General and the Crown Prosecution Service.

His allegations against Boris Berezovsky, a hate figure in the Kremlin and much of Russia, were also predictably given considerable prominence in the reports.

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Multimedia

• Full video of interview with Marina Litvinenko

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

• 'British spies' killed Litvinenko, says suspect

• Claim by claim: Lugovoy's theories examined

The level of media interest in Mr Lugovoy's press conference was extraordinary, with around 30 TV cameras from Russian and international broadcasting companies and a hall packed with journalists and photographers.

Russian television swiftly broadcast reaction from leading political figures, who called for a thorough investigation. Mr Lugovoy's allegations reversed the position in which Russian officials have often been on the defensive against claims of state involvement in Mr Litvinenko's death.

Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign relations committee of the Duma, Russia's parliament, called the allegations "most interesting" and said: "All of these matters should be investigated very seriously and I hope we will have good cooperation from our British colleagues."

Some analysts expressed scepticism at Mr Lugovoy's version of events. Peter Lavelle, political commentator on Russia Today, the state-funded English language channel, said that it did not answer the question of where the polonium-210 used to poison Mr Litvinenko had come from.

Mr Lugovoy appears at times to revel in the attention he has received as a result of this case, even as he strenuously protests his innocence. He ended his press conference, broadcast live on Russian television, with a strong appeal to patriotism that appeared calculated to strike a chord with viewers.

Recalling that his grandfather had fought in the Russo-Japanese war and his father in Berlin in World War Two, Mr Lugovoy said: "I was brought up as a real Russian officer, a real Russian military man.

"I am proud that Russia is once again standing up fully as a country that has always influenced geo-politics and will continue in future....Ten years ago nobody thought about Russia but now they will have to deal with Russia."

Mr Lugovoy is accompanied by bodyguards from his own security firm wherever he goes in public now. He said that he feared for his life if he travelled to London to answer the allegation against him, but he clearly also feels insecure in Moscow.

He must be hoping that he can protect himself against whoever might be involved in Russia by making accusations so publicly against MI6 and Mr Berezovsky. It is a high-risk balancing act in a case that grows murkier with each new revelation.

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