Litvinenko suspect is out to defy extradition

Last updated at 00:34 29 May 2007


The man wanted for poisoning a Russian dissident in London enjoyed a day at the races - as Britain handed in a formal extradition request for him.

Andrei Lugovoy mixed with Kremlin chiefs and oligarchs at the Radio Monte Carlo Grand Prix event in Moscow.

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Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun

At his side was Dmitry Kovtun, an associate who was also quizzed by Scotland Yard officers over the murder of ex-KGB operative Alexander Litvinenko.

Last week the Director of Public Prosecutions said there was sufficient evidence to charge Mr Lugovoy with killing Mr Litvinenko with the radioactive element polonium-210.

And the British ambassador to Moscow submitted legal papers for his extradition with the Russian foreign ministry.

But there are no signs that Moscow will permit him to face trial in London despite the seriousness of the evidence, involving the use of lethal polonium-210 as a murder weapon.

Ex-KGB officer Lugovoy - a millionaire who runs a security agency and a soft drinks company - met Litvinenko with his friend Kovtun at a London hotel on November 1, the day he fell seriously ill.

On his death bed, Litvinenko claimed that his murder had been ordered by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, a charge that Russia dismissed as ridiculous.

A police probe by Scotland Yard found traces of polonium-210 in hotels and offices visited by Lugovoy and on aircraft on which he travelled.

Russian prosecutor general Yuri Chaika has told Attorney General Lord Goldsmith that Lugovoy will not be extradited but if the evidence is strong enough, he will be tried in Moscow.

Despite his presence at the big day in Russian racing, Lugovoy said the security agency he runs is hiring agents to protect him.

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