MOSCOW, March 10 (RAPSI) – A suspect in Alexander Litvinenko’s murder, Andrei Lugovoi, failed lie detection test in April 2012 after being asked about his experience with polonium, The Guardian reported on Monday.

The public inquiry in Litvinenko’s murder heard that Lugovoi got a score of -2 when asked: “Have you ever handled polonium?”, The Guardian reported.

The high court has heard that the British polygrapher responsible for test administration, Bruce Burgess, travelled to Moscow in 2012 by request of Alexander Korobko, a Russian TV documentary producer. According to the inquiry, Burgess was paid £5,000 for his work. However, Burgess has been previously convicted for perverting the course of justice and had to resign from British Polygraph Association. Burgess told Lugovoi that test was successfully passed, although the question about polonium was failed, the Guardian reported.

Professor Ray Bull told the court that it is possible to cheat the test through various techniques including physical and mental conditioning. He added that intelligence officers are especially capable of duping the test, The Guardian reported.

Litvinenko defected to the UK in 2000. He died in 2006 after drinking tea allegedly laced with radioactive polonium-210 with former colleagues Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun at the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square, London. He was believed to work for Britain’s MI6 intelligence service. Traces of highly radioactive polonium-210 were found in his body.

The inquiry that was opened to establish the circumstances of his death rather than punish the guilty persons was deadlocked last May, when Sir Robert Owen said he would withhold some of the classified files and keep secret parts of the inquiry related to the alleged involvement of Russia and possible prevention of the crime. He said he would do so at the request of the government.