Extradition bid launched for Litvinenko murder suspect

The process of extraditing the man suspected of murdering Alexander Litvinenko was begun by prosecutors tonight.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) handed the British Home Office a file requesting the extradition of former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoy.

Diplomatic efforts to secure the suspect’s hand-over are expected to begin almost immediately.

A CPS spokeswoman said: “The Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald QC, has announced that the formal request for the extradition to the UK of Andrey Lugovoy for the murder of Alexander Litvinenko has now been passed to the Home Office.

“The request was made under the European Convention on Extradition and contains a warrant for the arrest of Mr Lugovoy and a detailed summary of the evidence in the case.”

Earlier today, the Attorney General told Russia’s chief prosecutor that the man accused of murdering Alexander Litvinenko must face trial in the UK.

Lugovoy was charged with Litvinenko’s murder on Tuesday.

The exiled former Russian spy was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 in London in November last year.

The British Attorney General rejected suggestions made earlier this week that Lugovoy could be put on trial in Russia.

He 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.”