Lugovoi: MI6 poisoned Litvinenko
Updated on 31 May 2007
Former Russian spy Andrei Lugovoi claims MI6 was behind the poisoning in London of Alexander Litvinenko.
In a press conference in Moscow this morning, Mr Lugovoi also claimed the security services tried to recruit him to inform on Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The Foreign Office has dismissed the allegations, and one of the exiles accused by Mr Lugovoi, Boris Berezovsky, told Channel 4 News that today's events proved the Kremlin was behind his friend's murder.
Andrei Lugovoi, suspected of causing Litvinenko's death last November, held forth for an hour and a half - live on Russian state television.
He declared he wanted to reveal the hidden truth behind the murder. He said Alexander Litvinenko was a British agent who tried to recruit him into MI6.
"Litvinenko gave me a book. He said that we're like spies in the films now and have to use a code," he said.
Lugovoi went on to claim that Litvinenko had fallen out with his MI6 handlers. He had ceased to be an asset and was killed.
'Litvinenko gave me a book. He said that we're like spies in the films now and have to use a code.'Andrei Lugovoi
But Lugovoi has provided no evidence for this claim.
The Foreign Office responded: "This is a criminal matter, not an issue about intelligence."
The Foreign Office is still awaiting a formal response to its request for Lugovoi's extradition so that he may face trial in the UK.
