A former KGB officer implicated in the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko broke his silence last night to deny any involvement, and pledged his willingness to co-operate with Scotland Yard’s investigation.

In an exclusive interview with The Times, Andrei Lugovoi confirmed that he met Mr Litvinenko on the day the Russian dissident was poisoned, but he insisted he was a business associate and had nothing to do with the attempt on Mr Litvinenko’s life.

He also said that he had an opinion on who was behind the poisoning, but refused to elaborate further.

Mr Lugovoi dismissed reports that a mysterious tall stranger named Vladimir had attended their meeting. He named the third man at the meeting in the London hotel as Dmitri Kovron, a businessman and childhood friend who was quite short.

He said that he had introduced Mr Kovron to Mr Litvinenko two weeks earlier and the three men had dined together in London’s Chinatown in the past.

Mr Lugovoi looked relaxed in the office of his security company tucked away on the second floor of a luxury central Moscow hotel as he gave his version of events. He said that he had travelled to London with his wife and three children on October 31 to attend the Champions League football match between Arsenal and CSKA Moscow.

He had been due to meet Mr Litvinenko on November 2 for a business appointment with a British company interested in entering the Russian market. But Mr Litvinenko had called him and asked to meet a day earlier to discuss the project.

Mr Lugovoi said that he and Mr Kovron met him at the hotel where they were staying. The meeting had taken place after Mr Litvinenko met his Italian contact, Mario Scaramella, and not before, as reports have suggested.

“The initiative for the meeting came from Alexander to discuss this business opportunity. He told me that he might be a bit late because he said he was meeting an Italian, but he called me after that meeting and said he would be with us in 10 minutes,” Mr Lugovoi said.

“Kovron was sitting opposite me at the table with Alexander between us. There was some tea and spirits on the table but he did not order anything and he did not drink anything.

“After a while my son, who is eight, came up to the table and I introduced him to Alexander and then we left together for the vestibule where my wife was waiting, and I introduced her to him. Then I went on to the match with my family.

“We were supposed to have a business meeting the next day but he called early in the morning and said that he was not feeling too well and suggested I go to the meeting without him.

“I called him again on November 7 and he said he was still not feeling too good and that I should call him in a week. When I called on November 13, his wife answered and passed the phone to him and his voice really sounded like a man who was unwell.”

Mr Lugovoi said that he returned to Moscow then took a business trip to the Caucasus. The first he knew of Mr Litvinenko’s poisoning was on Monday. He said that he returned to Moscow and contacted the British Embassy. He told the Embassy that he would be willing to travel to London to be interviewed by Scotland Yard.

Asked who he thought had sought to kill Mr Litvinenko, he said: “I have my own opinion about that but it is too early to talk about it and it would be a mistake to do so. This is a very delicate issue since the secret services of both Britain and Russia have become involved.” Was he afraid for his own safety? “I am not afraid but I take a very serious approach to my own security.”

Mr Lugovoi attacked Mr Litvinenko’s friend Alex Goldfarb for implicating him in the affair. He said that he had met Mr Goldfarb only a couple of times briefly. “I think he is just trying to attract attention to himself and maybe this is his way of doing it,” he said.

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