Russia shields spy murder suspect

Russia shields spy murder suspect
By Jimmy Burns and Daniel Dombey in London and Catherine Belton in Moscow
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: May 22 2007 21:13 | Last updated: May 22 2007 21:13


Relations between Britain and Russia hit a post-cold war low on Tuesday after Moscow said it would not extradite the former KGB officer the UK wants to try for the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident.

The government began formal proceedings for Andrei Lugovoi to be extradited after the Crown Prosecution Service said there was enough evidence for him to face trial in the UK for the poisoning of Litvinenko in a London hotel in November.

A spokesman for Tony Blair, the prime minister, said the UK would “not in any way shy away’’ from trying to ensure justice prevailed. “Murder is murder; this is a very serious case,” he said.

Mr Lugovoi said he was innocent of murder and the decision to charge him was politically motivated, according to the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti.

However, Sir Ken Macdonald, the CPS chief, said Litvinenko’s death was “an extraordinarily grave crime” and he had concluded that “a prosecution of this case would clearly be in the public interest’’.

The statement underlines official concern that the death of Litvinenko, a former Russian security agent, by radioactive poisoning breaks new ground in extra-territorial assassinations. The stand-off between London and Moscow is a further sign of deteriorating relations between Russia and the west at a time when the Kremlin is embroiled in bilateral disputes with the US and many of its neighbours over issues ranging from missile defence to energy supplies.

Personal relations between Mr Blair and Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, have greatly cooled. The prospect of an extended diplomatic and legal dispute with Moscow is likely to prove a test for Gordon Brown, the premier in waiting.

Margaret Beckett, foreign secretary, said she expected “full co-operation” from the Kremlin.

Yury Fedotov, Russia’s ambassador to the UK, was summoned to meet Sir Peter Ricketts, permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, who urged Russia to comply with the extradition request.

Confirming earlier indications that any such request was likely to fail, the Russian state prosecutor’s office said that under the country’s law its citizens could not be extradited. The office said it would not rule out trying Mr Lugovoi in Russia.

Mr Putin has denied any suggestion that the Russian state had any involvement in Litvinenko’s murder. But UK investigators say it would be difficult for anyone without links to a state to obtain lethal doses of polonium 210, the radioactive substance that killed him.

Moscow wants to extradite Boris Berezovsky, a Russian billionaire who lives in London, for alleged economic crimes. The UK government refused to rescind his asylum status. Lawyers for Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, said they were pursuing a claim for compensation from Moscow.