Spy death: Suspect alleges MI6 hand in poisoning

“Attempts were made to openly recruit me as a British intelligence service agent. The Britons, in fact, told me to collect any information to compromise President Putin and his family,” Lugovoi said at a press conference.

Lugovoi, who is now a businessman, alleged that Litvinenko and tycoon Boris Berezovsky worked for the British secret service.

“Today, I would like to make an announcement, which should shed some light on this dark political story where the main roles were played by the British secret service, and their agents Berezovsky and Litvinenko,” he said.

Lugovoi said Litvinenko had told him the British secret service recruited him first. “Then, Berezovsky handed over some documents from the Russian Security Council where he was the deputy secretary and became an MI6 agent.”

The British embassy in Moscow said: “The Litvinenko case is a criminal offence , not an intelligence issue.”