Litvinenko wife rejects MI6 claim

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The widow of Alexander Litvinenko has dismissed claims that British secret services were involved in his death.

Marina Litvinenko said on the BBC's Sunday AM that accusations made by Andrei Lugovoi, suspected by Britain of poisoning her husband, were "nonsense".

She also called on the G8 to support the UK's request to get Mr Lugovoi extradited from Russia to face trial.

Mr Lugovoi says he is being used as a scapegoat and Moscow says efforts to extradite him are harming relations.

Mr Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, died in November 2006 after exposure to the radioactive isotope polonium-210.

'Incredible'

Polonium-210 was found in a string of places that Mr Lugovoi visited in London, but he said he was a witness, not a suspect in the case.

Last week, at a Moscow news conference, he said the poisoning could not have happened without some involvement from MI6. He said he had evidence to support his claim, but gave no details.

KEY EVENTS IN CASE 1 November 2006: Alexander Litvinenko meets Andrei Lugovoi and another Russian at a London hotel 23 November 2006: Litvinenko dies in a London hospital24 November 2006: A Litvinenko statement accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of involvement in his death. Experts say Litvinenko was poisoned 6 December 2006: UK police say they are treating the death as murder 22 May 2007: Lugovoi should be charged with Litvinenko's murder, British prosecutors say 28 May 2007: UK makes formal request for Lugovoi's extradition from Russia <a class="" href="/1/hi/uk/6179074.stm">Full timeline of events</a>

Speaking on BBC One's The Politics Show Mrs Litvinenko said the claims were "incredible and nonsense".

She urged the G8 nations, who are due to meet in Germany next week, to back Britain's bid to get Mr Lugovoi extradited so he can face trial.

Russia's constitution forbids it from extraditing its own citizens, but she said her husband's case was different from anything that had happened before so the rule should be reconsidered.

"Nobody could be happy with this," she says. "I am absolutely sure what happened last November was like an act of terrorism against British citizens here in England."

Mr Lugovoi also said MI6 had recruited Mr Litvinenko and had tried to recruit him, to collect information on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mrs Litvinenko denied this.

The north London home where the family had lived is still polluted with polonium and she has no idea when she and the couple's 13-year-old son Anatoly can return.

She said no polonium had been found in her son's body but some had been found in hers, however it is still unclear how harmful it could be.

Diplomatic storm

She said the situation was still painful for her but she did feel safe in the UK.

"With everyone around me, Scotland Yard, I just feel safe with all this," she said.

The case is creating a diplomatic storm, with Russia accusing Britain of using it as part of a political campaign.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the UK's efforts to extradite Mr Lugovoi were harming relations between the two countries.

The Foreign Office has rejected Mr Lugovoi's claims and insist the murder is a "very serious criminal matter which put hundreds of British citizens and visitors to the capital at risk".