MOSCOW, July 23: Russian prosecutors on Monday criticised a British inquiry into the murder of a former Russian agent in London as “not objective,” pointing to “contradictions and errors” in the evidence.

They also rejected criticism of Russia's legal system as “unacceptable” and dismissed the idea of overturning a constitutional ban on extraditions of Russian citizens in order to hand over the murder suspect identified by Britain.

A senior Russian investigator into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, which has brought Russian-British relations to the point of diplomatic crisis, said materials he had received from British investigators showed a biased case.

“The material presented in the Alexander Litvinenko case doesn't suggest an objective investigation by Scotland Yard, and shows political rather than legal assessments,” investigator Andrei Mayorov said at a press conference in Moscow. Both Russia and Britain have opened inquiries into Litvinenko's murder.

British investigators accuse ex-KGB officer Andrei Lugovoi of poisoning Litvinenko with a highly radioactive substance. Russia has turned down a British request to extradite Lugovoi and its own inquiry is ongoing.

Mayorov said the case made by British prosecutors failed to explain why radioactive traces had been found in some places where Lugovoi had been in London during meetings with Litvinenko but not in others.

He also said that the case appeared to be founded on the idea that Litvinenko had been targeted because of his criticism of Russia's FSB security service.

Russia's deputy prosecutor general Alexander Zvyagintsev said at the press conference that Lugovoi may himself have been the victim of an attack and did “not exclude” that the culprit could be in Litvinenko's circle in London.

This appeared to be a thinly-veiled reference to fugitive Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky.

Zvyagintsev also said British criticism of the Russian legal system over the Litvinenko affair was “unacceptable” and he accused London of “conceit” for suggesting changes to Russia's constitution.

“The Russian side has more reason to doubt the effectiveness of the British legal system” after a series of refusals by London to extradite Russian nationals wanted in Russia, he said.—AFP