Murdered spy had no reason to run, Putin says

The murdered former spy Alexander Litvinenko did not possess any secrets and had no reason to flee Russia, the country's president, Vladimir Putin, said today.

Facing more than 1,200 journalists at an annual televised press conference in the Kremlin's Round Hall, Mr Putin fielded questions on the deaths of the former KGB officer and the investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

During the three and a half hour conference, he expressed mistrust over US proposals to site anti-missile systems in eastern Europe, rejecting the idea that these would only target possible missiles from Iran.

He also insisted Russia was not using its huge energy resources as a political weapon and rejected suggestions that he might try to orchestrate a succession as his second - and constitutionally final - term in office draws to a close.