Spy murder suspect accuses Britain of poor detective work

MOSCOW, July 11 (Reuters) The main suspect in the London murder of ex-agent Alexander Litvinenko said today that Britain was trying to cover up for its poor detective work in the case by complaining about Moscow's refusal to extradite him.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman condemned Russia yesterday for refusing to extradite Andrei Lugovoy, a former state security agent, to stand trial over the fatal poisoning of Litvinenko last year.

British officials called Moscow's response ''extremely disappointing'' and threatened further steps against Russia, suggesting a showdown between the two nations is imminent.

Britain has so far refused to say what it might do but previous political rows between London and Moscow in Cold War days led to mutual expulsions of diplomats.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it was ''surprised'' by the British official reaction to the extradition refusal since Moscow's position was based on Russian law, which forbids the extradition of its citizens.

Litvinenko, a former agent with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) who later became a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died an agonising death after ingesting a lethal dose of the rare radioactive substance polonium 210.

Traces of polonium were found in several locations frequented by Lugovoy before the killing but the former agent has always insisted he is innocent, saying British intelligence or anti-Kremlin emigres probably murdered Litvinenko.

STORMY REACTION ''The stormy reaction from the British authorities to the Russian prosecutors' decision not to extradite me is aimed at diverting public attention from the unprofessional work of investigators rather than finding Litvinenko's true murderers,'' Lugovoy told the Interfax news agency.

Britain has rejected a Russian offer to put Lugovoy on trial at home, saying it doubted Moscow's promises of a fair trial.

The suspect hit back by saying he did not believe in British justice either.

''I have no reasons to trust a British court... because public opinion has already been prejudiced by the British media and some former Russian citizens wanted by Russian law enforcement bodies,'' added Lugovoy, who now runs a private security business in Moscow.

Lugovoy said in May that Boris Berezovsky, a self-exiled Russian tycoon and a bitter foe of President Vladimir Putin who lives in London, was behind Litvinenko's killing, possibly along with the British intelligence organisation MI6.

Berezovsky shrugged off Lugovoy's accusations and British officials said they did not comment on intelligence matters.

''I haven't heard so far whether my statement has been taken into consideration by the British investigators and court,'' Lugovoy told Interfax, adding that criminal probes by Russian authorities ''indirectly confirmed'' some of his theories.

That remark appeared to be a reference to an announcement last week by the FSB that a former Russian special forces officer had turned himself in after British intelligence officers tried to recruit him.

The man, Vyacheslav Zharko, alleged he had befriended Berezovsky and Litvinenko in London and was introduced by the latter to British spies who paid him to spy on Russia.

Diplomats dismissed the claims as another Russian attempt to muddy the waters around the Litvinenko case.

Reuters KK GC1732