Lugovoi 'must face justice in UK'

Andrei Lugovoi claims the charges are "politically motivated"

The attorney general has told his Russian counterpart that the suspect wanted for the murder of a former KGB agent must be extradited.

Lord Goldsmith said Alexander Litvinenko's murder was "grave and reckless" and Andrei Lugovoi "must face justice in a UK court".

But the Russian Prosecutor General said that if Mr Lugovoi was implicated in the death he would be tried in Russia.

Mr Litvinenko, 43, died in London after being poisoned by polonium-210.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) formally submitted its extradition request for Mr Lugovoi to the Home Office on Friday evening.

It passed on a file containing a warrant for his arrest and a "detailed summary of the evidence in the case", a CPS spokesman said.

'Endangered others'

Lord Goldsmith met Yuri Chaika at the G8 interior and justice ministers' meeting in Munich.

In a statement, his office said he "impressed on Mr Chaika the seriousness of the crime".

"I have spoken to the Russian Prosecutor General today to stress that this was a most grave and reckless crime, which killed one man and endangered the safety of many others," Lord Goldsmith said.

"This murder was committed on UK soil, the evidence is in the UK, a UK citizen was killed and other people put at risk and it is therefore right a suspect should face justice in a UK court."

This murder was committed on UK soil, the evidence is in the UK, a UK citizen was killed and other people put at risk and it is therefore right a suspect should face justice in a UK court Lord Goldsmith

The attorney general added that he had requested "constructive and rapid co-operation" from Russia over Mr Lugovoi's extradition.

But Mr Chaika said: "If our specialists recognise Britain's suspicions concerning Lugovoi as substantiated, he will be tried by a Russian court."

He is reported to have told Lord Goldsmith that under Russia's constitution and as a Russian citizen, Mr Lugovoi could not be extradited.

Mr Lugovoi, who is also a former KGB agent, has said the charges against him were "politically motivated".

He met Mr Litvinenko on the day he fell ill, but insisted he was a "victim not a perpetrator of a radiation attack" with polonium-210.

Mr Lugovoi's lawyer, Andrei Romashov, told the BBC's Russian service that his client had "never avoided the police" and was prepared to speak to British detectives.