MI5 and MI6 have been ordered to disclose any secret documents pertaining to their alleged relationship with former FSB security officer Alexander Litvinenko of Russia who died in 2006 after ingesting radioactive polonium, The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday. According to the British newspaper, these documents will form part of a probe into allegations that the murder of Litvinenko was organized by the Russian authorities.

This was requested by St.Pancras coroner Andrew Reid as evidence for the inquest into Litvinenko’s death. “He has agreed to consider allegations that Mr. Litvinenko was murdered because of his outspoken criticism of Vladimir Putin,” The Daily Mail says.

It is, of course, rather unfortunate that Mr.Reid wants to declassify secret documents in order to once again attempt to prove that the murder of Mr.Litvinenko was the work of Russian secret services. The British side is persistently trying to find “Moscow’s trace” in the Litvinenko case rather than focus on ascertaining the truth, our political commentator says.

Mr.Litvinenko fled to Britain in 2000, and on November 23, 2006 he died shortly after obtaining the British citizenship. After his death, British medical experts found a considerable amount of radioactive polonium 210 in his body. The British authorities never made public the results of Mr.Litvinenko’s post-mortem examination, also keeping mum on the official cause of his death.

British prosecutors pointed the finger at Russian security officer-turned-State Duma MP Andrei Lugovoi who they said had killed Mr.Litvinenko. Mr. Lugovoi is rejecting all the accusations. The British authorities have repeatedly demanded the extradition of Mr.Lugovoi which Moscow says is impossible because the Russian Constitution forbids the extradiction of Russian citizens to any foreign country. This was something that was reiterated by President Dmitry Medvedev during British Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to Moscow in September 2011.

“We should all learn to treat our laws with respect, Medvedev says. If my memory doesn’t fail me, Article 61 of the Russian Constitution forbids extradition of Russian citizens to a foreign country where they could face prosecution. This will never happen, remember my words.”

The main question is whether the declassified documents will shed any more light on the Litvinenko case which is unlikely to be made public. The British authorities have decided to conduct the hearings behind closed doors to try and make sure that the judgment reached by the court is in line with official London’s interests. To all appearances, the British side is determined to blame the Russian authorities of being behind Mr.Litvinenko’s death.

As for the Russian side, it has a vested interest in ascertaining the truth, and is preapared to cooperate on the matter which has repeatedly been signalled by Moscow. Suffice it to say that in December 2006, the Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office launched an investigation into the murder of Mr.Litvinenko. Russia said it was prepared to investigate Mr.Lugovoi for allegedly murdering Mr. Litvinenko if Britain provided any concrete evidence to this effect. But it seems that London is now unwilling to do so and is unlikely to change its mind in the future.

It is safe to assume, therefore, that the scandalous Litvinenko case will continue to be the main stumbling block between Moscow and London, something that has been tarnishing bilateral ties since 2006. Britain’s reluctance to cooperate with Russia on the issue once again reflects the powerful clout of the anti-Russian lobby in the UK which is preventing the ‘frozen’ Russian-British political relations from improving.