My right hon. Friend the Attorney General has made the following written ministerial statement:

“Today the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided, after applying the evidential and public interest tests set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, to prosecute Mr Andrey Konstantinovich Lugovoy, a Russian citizen, for the murder of Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko. The CPS decision was reached after they had consulted the Attorney-General, which is the usual practice in serious and complex cases. The CPS have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Lugovoy for murder and it is in the public interest to do so.

It is alleged that in London on or about 1 November 2006, Mr Lugovoy poisoned Mr Litvinenko by administering a lethal dose of Polonium 210, a radioactive material. Mr Litvinenko died on 23 November 2006 in a London hospital of an acute radiation injury.

The CPS will now take immediate steps to seek the extradition of Mr Lugovoy from Russia to the United Kingdom so that he can be charged and prosecuted for murder in this country.

The Attorney-General agrees with the CPS decision.”