Suicide possibility of ex-KGB agent probed

LONDON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- British detectives investigating the death of an ex-KGB spy probed the possibility he killed himself to discredit Russian President Vladimir Putin, police said.

Increasing concerns over the reliability of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko's death-bed testimony have prompted police to check every detail of his version of events Nov. 1, the day he said he was poisoned, The Independent reported Sunday.

Litvinenko, 43, a former KGB agent who became a fierce critic of Putin, died Thursday after falling gravely ill from what doctors said was poisoning by the radioactive element polonium-210.

He told police he was poisoned Nov. 1 while investigating the October killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another Putin critic.

His death on British soil triggered an unprecedented investigation headed by Scotland Yard's anti-terror branch and involving forensic experts and nuclear scientists.