Lugovoy: British wanted me to spy

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MOSCOW, May 31 (UPI) -- The Moscow man accused of killing a former KGB agent in London said the man tried to recruit him to spy for England.

Andrei Lugovoy, who has denied killing Alexander Litvinenko, said at a Moscow news conference that Litvinenko's death may have something do with his alleged work for British intelligence, the Times of London reported Thursday.

"It is hard to escape the thought that Litvinenko had become an agent who had escaped the control of the special services and they took him out, if not the special services, then those under their control, or those cooperating with them," Lugovoy said in the Times report.

Litvinenko, a former KGB agent and outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died last November after being poisoned with a radioactive substance in London. British officials have charged Lugovoy with murder and are attempting to extradite him. Russian officials have said the Russian Constitution prevents his extradition but that he could be tried in Russia if the evidence warrants it.

British special services "asked me to collect compromising information on President Putin," Lugovoy said, the Times reported. He said they "thought I was a Russian James Bond who can infiltrate the Russian nuclear industry."