The man who U.K. officials allege is responsible for the poisoning death of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko says he has evidence that British special forces were behind the death.
Without elaborating on any evidence he held, Russian businessman Andrei Lugovoi told reporters Thursday that British forces were behind the plot even if they didn't carry out the poisoning themselves.
He also said he suspected the mafia and Boris Berezovsky, a wealthy critic of the Kremlin who fled Russia for London, were involved.
"The main role was played by British secret services and their agent Berezovsky," he said in a statement aired live on state television.
Lugovoi also claimed that Britain had tried to recruit him to "collect compromising information on (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin."
A British government security official, who requested anonymity, said the allegations were untrue. Britain's Foreign Office, responsible for MI6, declined to comment.
British officials said last week they had enough evidence to convict Lugovoi -- a former agent and bodyguard to one-time Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar -- in the death of Litvinenko.
Russia has declined the U.K's request for Lugovoi's extradition because it is forbidden in the country's constitution.
Lugovoi met with Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square on Nov. 1 2006.
That same day, 43-year-old Litvinenko complained of feeling unwell. He was admitted to a London hospital two days later.
Medical specialists discovered that Litvinenko had been exposed to polonium-210. In his final days, he blamed Putin for ordering his death. The Russian government vehemently denied the charge.
British officials also denied the fresh allegations from Lugovoi -- saying the request for his extradition had nothing to do with British intelligence.
"This is a criminal matter and is not an issue about intelligence," a Foreign Office spokesman told Reuters. "A British citizen was killed in London and U.K. citizens and visitors were put at risk."
With files from The Associated Press
