Litvinenko suspect says real killers in Britain

MOSCOW – The man charged by Britain with murdering former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko denied involvement yesterday, saying British intelligence and a self-exiled Russian multi-millionaire were far more likely suspects.

In the latest twist to a sensational murder case which has revived memories of the Cold War and seriously damaged British-Russian relations, Britain’s main suspect Andrei Lugovoy sought to parry the accusations against him. “Britain is making me a scapegoat,” a confident and combative Lugovoy, himself a former KGB agent, told a packed Moscow news conference televised live on state-owned television.Lugovoy said he did not know for sure who killed Litvinenko with radioactive polonium in London last November but said there were three possible suspects: British intelligence, the mafia and Boris Berezovsky, a multi-millionaire tycoon who fled Russia for London after falling out with President Vladimir Putin.Lugovoy said both Litvinenko and Berezovsky were working for Britain’s spy agencies and that the murder was tied up with that activity.But Britain hit back by saying its request for Lugovoy’s extradition from Russia – which Moscow said it cannot meet – had nothing to do with British intelligence.”This is a criminal matter and is not an issue about intelligence,” a Foreign Office spokesman said.”A British citizen was killed in London and UK citizens and visitors were put at risk.”Berezovsky is the Kremlin’s chief hate figure in London because of his constant and fierce criticism of Putin and his open admissions that he wants to fund a revolution to change the government in Russia.Britain’s granting of asylum to Berezovsky has infuriated Moscow, who wants him extradited to face criminal charges in Russia.Berezovsky was not immediately available for comment on Lugovoy’s allegations.Nampa-Reuters”Britain is making me a scapegoat,” a confident and combative Lugovoy, himself a former KGB agent, told a packed Moscow news conference televised live on state-owned television.Lugovoy said he did not know for sure who killed Litvinenko with radioactive polonium in London last November but said there were three possible suspects: British intelligence, the mafia and Boris Berezovsky, a multi-millionaire tycoon who fled Russia for London after falling out with President Vladimir Putin.Lugovoy said both Litvinenko and Berezovsky were working for Britain’s spy agencies and that the murder was tied up with that activity.But Britain hit back by saying its request for Lugovoy’s extradition from Russia – which Moscow said it cannot meet – had nothing to do with British intelligence.”This is a criminal matter and is not an issue about intelligence,” a Foreign Office spokesman said.”A British citizen was killed in London and UK citizens and visitors were put at risk.”Berezovsky is the Kremlin’s chief hate figure in London because of his constant and fierce criticism of Putin and his open admissions that he wants to fund a revolution to change the government in Russia.Britain’s granting of asylum to Berezovsky has infuriated Moscow, who wants him extradited to face criminal charges in Russia.Berezovsky was not immediately available for comment on Lugovoy’s allegations.Nampa-Reuters