The Foreign Ministry and the Prosecutor General's office, meanwhile, indicated it was highly unlikely that Lugovoy would be extradited to Britain.

Lugovoy had met with Litvinenko at a London hotel only hours before Litvinenko became ill with polonium-210 poisoning. Litvinenko, 43, died on November 23 after three agonising weeks. On his deathbed, he accused President Vladimir Putin of being behind his poisoning. The Kremlin has denied involvement.

Lugovoy on Wednesday again denied any involvement in the Litvinenko's death.

Earlier, news agencies quoted Lugovoy as saying the decision to charge him was political motivated.

He also promised to make a statement he said would be "sensational for public opinion in Britain and that would fundamentally change the perceptions of the events that have occurred in the past years in Britain," ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying.

In an interview with Channel 4 News, Lugovoy again said police had "no evidence" of his guilt and should look for Mr Litvinenko's killers in London, not Moscow.

He also hinted that he believed the "strange meetings" he had with Mr Litvinenko were part of a wider plot to frame him in his murder.

The former KGB agent appeared relaxed and confident his government would refuse his extradition, saying he was about to play football. He said: "I can say that I am absolutely calm as I am absolutely innocent. The statement offered by the British prosecutors is no more than a version. I, on the other hand, am convinced that I did not kill Litvinenko.

"Moreover, I am fully and deeply convinced that the British justice (system) does not have any evidence. I also do not understand how they will claim I had a motive, and if there's no motive it's difficult to imagine they have a case."