Former Russian spy to be charged with Litvinenko murder

LONDON: Britain's chief public prosecutor on Tuesday recommended that murder charges should be brought against former Russian agent Andrei Lugovoy in connection with the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London last November.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said there was sufficient evidence to charge Lugovoy with "murder by deliberate poisoning".

Litvinenko died in London on Nov 23, 2006, after exposure to the radioactive isotope polonium-210.

Lugovoy was one of two men he met at a London hotel on Nov 1, the day the poison is believed to have been administered. The second was Dmitri Kovtun who was, however, not recommended for charges on Tuesday.

Ken Macdonald, the director of public prosecutions, said a warrant had been issued for the arrest of Lugovoy, a Moscow-based businessman, although there is no extradition treaty with Russia.

The case was "clearly in the public interest", said Macdonald.

Justice authorities in Moscow have repeatedly stressed that suspects in the Litvinenko case could not be extradited under Russian law.

The British decision is likely to further strain relations between Moscow and London over the affair.

Litvinenko, on his deathbed, openly accused President Vladimir Putin of being behind his murder.

Government officials in Britain have sought to play down press reports over the past few days that Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett had "exerted pressure" for no action to be taken against Lugovoy, and other possible suspects.