Kremlin blames UK for Trump 'sex storm' as top Tory says relations with Russia are ‘about as bad as it could get’ without us being at WAR 

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Russia's relations with Britain went into the deep freeze last night as Moscow blamed MI6 for the dossier of sordid claims about Donald Trump.

In an alarming Twitter post, the Russian embassy in London suggested the dossier’s alleged author, former British spy Christopher Steele, was still working for MI6 and ‘briefing both ways’ against Mr Trump and Moscow.

Mr Steele, who spied in Moscow in the 1990s, was last night in hiding after vanishing shortly before the damning dossier made headlines around the world. Neighbours said he had asked them to look after his three cats, and there were claims last night he was in an MI6 safe house.

Chilling: The Russian Embassy in London sent a mysterious tweet saying: 'Christopher Steele story: MI6 officers are never ex: briefing both ways - against Russia and US President'

Pictured: Christopher Steele, 52, was President of the Cambridge Union debating society in 1986, just before he joined MI6 in Moscow to spy as the Soviet Union collapsed, pictured at a Union Bicentenary event

A Russian embassy spokesman said the tweet – which said ‘MI6 officers are never ex’ – ‘reflected the mood in Russia’. 

A Tory MP said last night the fresh outbreak of Cold War hostilities comes at a time when relations between Britain and Russia were the ‘worst they could get in peace-time’.

Just days ago the Russians claimed they knew of ‘an impending official anti-Russian witch-hunt, involving the British special services’.

Russia's London embassy posted the dark message addressing former MI6 officer Steele as the diplomatic crisis deepened.

Scandal: The former British spy Christopher Steele, who is alleged to have compiled a 'dirty' dossier smearing Donald Trump, fled his £1.5million home in fear last night and could be abroad or in a UK safe house

The post, headed 'Christopher Steele story', also claimed that British spies had been 'briefing both ways' against both Moscow and the US.

It was posted on the Russian embassy's official Twitter feed, and was published after the first picture emerged of former British spy Christopher Steele - who has fled his £1.5million Surrey mansion in fear.

When approached for a comment by MailOnline, a spokesman for the Russian embassy said: 'We have obvious questions.

'We don't raise them with HM Government given the frozen state of our official relationship. The tweet reflects the mood in Russia and speaks for itself.'

Tory MP Crispin Blunt, who is conducting an inquiry into Russia, said it was a sign UK-Russian relations were the 'worst they could get in peace time'

Steele (second from the right on the back row) is pictured during his time at Cambridge University with, among others, DJ Paul Gambaccini (second from right, front row) who was a guest at a debate

Following the tweet, Tory MP Crispin Blunt, who is conducting an inquiry into Russia, said it was a sign UK-Russian relations were the 'worst they could get in peace time'.

Mr Blunt, an ex-army officer and foreign affairs select committee chair, said: 'For a peace time political relationship, it is about as bad as it could get.'

Steele, 52, described as a 'confirmed socialist' as a Cambridge student, apparently packed his bags and fled his home in fear yesterday telling his neighbour: 'Look after my cats.'  

Steele, a father-of-three and widower, may have gone abroad after being sensationally revealed as the author of a dossier on Donald Trump’s alleged outlandish sexual perversions with prostitutes in a Russian presidential suite.

Steele was President of the Cambridge Union debating society in 1986, just before he joined MI6 in Moscow to spy as the Soviet Union collapsed.

His counterpart at the Oxford Union was Boris Johnson, and it is likely the two would have met in their respective roles. 

One book on the Union's history says he was a socialist who accused another student of being racist because he had visited the South African embassy at the height of apartheid.

Missing: Steele, 52, was seen fleeing his gated Surrey home (pictured) in his car yesterday and appears to have been in such a rush most of the lights were left on

Cash rich: Christopher Steele, 52, runs Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd with fellow ex-MI6 operative Christopher Burrows, which made £401,000 profit in 2015 and £621,000 profit in 2016, according to company accounts (pictured)

He was pictured at a Bicentenary Debate in 2015 laughing while listening to speakers including former Tory leader Michael Howard.

In Stephen Parkinson's book Arena of Ambitions, a history of the Cambridge Union, he mentions Steele and his later job working for the Government. 

One paragraph describes Chris Steele as a 'confirmed socialist from Girton who was later President himself - and subsequently joined the Foreign Office'. 

A spokeswoman from the Oxford Union, where now Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was president in Trinity term 1986, said no records had been kept of meetings between the two.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was President of the Oxford Union in the same term in 1986 when Steele was president of the Cambridge Union. A spokeswoman from the Oxford Union said it would have been 'very unusual' if they did not meet

She told MailOnline: 'We're a student organisation, we don’t keep that kind of information.

‘It’s a small world, if they didn’t meet it would be very unusual.’ 

A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: 'Boris never met or heard of him before so they did not meet or know each other during the Foreign secretary's time at Oxford.'

Sources close to the Foreign Secretary said he remembered a different student having been in the role. 

No one from The Cambridge Union was available for comment.  

A source who knew him told The Mirror: 'I had no idea that this was the sort of mischief he got up to.

'I think mutual friends may have mentioned he was at MI6'.   

MailOnline can reveal today that the former Girton College student made more than £1million after working with the FBI to smash corruption at FIFA.

Friend: Mr Steele's business partner Christopher Burrows was also named as a former MI6 agent, but has not been linked to the dossier and refused to say if his colleague had written it

He runs Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd with fellow ex-MI6 operative Christopher Burrows, which made £401,000 profit in 2015 and £621,000 profit in 2016, according to company accounts.

The business thrived after Steele fed the FBI with paid-for information on corruption at FIFA, football's governing body.

US officials even met with him at his company's headquarters in Belgravia shortly before senior football officials were arrested over 'rampant and systemic' corruption.

Senior FIFA officials, including long-time president Sepp Blatter, were forced to resign is disgrace.

Steele's work reportedly led to a lucrative deal to dig for dirt on Trump's dealings with Russia, where he worked for 20 years as a spy after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But lurid claims made in the salacious Russian dossier about Donald Trump's sex life and bizarre footage allegedly held by the Kremlin's blackmail unit has seen him go to ground.  

Mr Trump called the dossier 'fake' and 'phony', even suggesting that US secret services had leaked it to damage his reputation before his inauguration. 

He debunked the 'golden shower' claim by saying: 'Does anyone believe that? I'm a germophobe'. 

Steele, 52, was seen fleeing his gated Surrey home in his car yesterday and appears to have been in such a rush most of the lights were left on. 

A security source said: 'He is terrified for his safety', adding he may now be abroad or in a safe house. 

A neighbour told the Telegraph: 'He asked me to look after his cat as he would be gone for a few days'. 

Mr Steele served MI6 for nearly two decades in Moscow - and a stint in its Paris Station - and security sources say he once worked with murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who fled to Britain before he was poisoned in 2006.  

Litvinenko's wife Marina said last night she did not recognise the name Steele but admitted MI6 agents often have a number of different identities.  

Steele was employed by enemies of Trump to dig for 'dirt' in Russia having previously worked for the FBI in helping uncover corruption at FIFA, which led to the arrest of its leadership including Sepp Blatter. 

Senator John McCain was allegedly handed the incendiary Trump file by a former British Ambassador to Moscow, who has not yet been named.

Yesterday it was revealed Sir Tim Barrow, a former British Ambassador to Moscow who is now the UK's top EU diplomat in charge of Brexit regotiations, worked in the same office as Steele when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Sir Tim is understood to have told bosses he had 'nothing to do with' leaking Steele's Trump memos, a Foreign Office source told MailOnline. 

Sir Andrew Wood - British ambassador to Moscow between 1995 and 2000 - has confirmed he met McCain, an outspoken critic of the President Elect, at a security conference in Canada in November.

The two discussed Trump's vulnerability to blackmail amid allegations contained in the discredited dossier.

But he denied being the source of the document, which McCain was handed by an unnamed diplomat.

Sir Andrew told The Independent he knew the alleged author of the dossier, former MI6 spy Christopher Steele, describing him as 'professional and thorough'. 

It is believed that Christopher Steele once worked with murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko (pictured, in hospital)

Pictured: The offices of Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd in Belgravia, central London, the security business run by Christopher Steele. The FBI is said to have met him there to discuss FIFA corruption

The BBC has now claimed that there is a second dossier and despite allegations being widely rubbished one journalist said 'the head of an East European intelligence agency' insists the sex tape exists.  

'I had nothing to do with it': Britain's new Man in Europe denies involvement in Russian 'dirty' dossier scandal 

Britain's new ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Barrow today told bosses he 'had nothing to do with' the Russian 'dirty' dossier on Trump

Britain's new ambassador to the EU has today told bosses he 'had nothing to do with' the Russian 'dirty' dossier on Donald Trump – as MailOnline reveals his remarkable links to the former British spy who compiled the document. 

Sir Tim Barrow's name entered the frame as a potential source of the leak to US politician John McCain after it was suggested the Senator was handed the incendiary file by a former British ambassador to Moscow. 

The ambassador has not yet been publicly identified.

Sir Tim held the post of ambassador to Russia between 2011 and 2015, but also served in Moscow alongside ex-MI6 spy Christopher Steele in the early 1990s. 

The pair shared an office at the old British embassy - now the ambassador's official residence - across the Moscow River from the Kremlin.

Sir Tim is the only former Russian ambassador still working as a diplomat for the British Government. 

The man who held the role at the time Steele and Sir Tim were posted there was Sir Rodric Braithwaite, an 84-year-old retired diplomat who has since turned his hand to writing books.

Sir Tim, who paid a visit to Washington in July last year, denied being the source of the leak and is understood to have told bosses he had 'nothing to do with it'.

However, MailOnline can reveal he has close links to Steele, the ex-MI6 agent named as the author of the salacious document.  

Sir Tim and Steele are believed to have first crossed paths almost 30 years ago in the cramped surroundings of a Moscow office.

And ever since, the career trajectories of Steele and Sir Tim have been remarkably similar.

They worked together for three years during a momentous period that saw the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, having been posted to the old British embassy - now the ambassador's official residence - across the Moscow River from the Kremlin.

Steele, an ex-MI6 agent named as the author of the salacious Russian dossier containing outlandish claims about Donald Trump's sex life, was listed as a second secretary (Chancery) between 1990 to 1993.

During the same period, Sir Tim - then a young diplomat - was sent to the country as Second Secretary, a time he would later look back on fondly by saying in 2011: 'I have good memories of working in Moscow in the early nineties.'

Both Sir Tim and Steele returned to the Foreign Office the same year, 1993, with the former named Head of Russia Section and latter the second and later first secretary.

It is unclear how close a bond the two formed during their time working together, but both have since hit the headlines over the space of just a couple of weeks.

Sir Tim, 52, a former envoy to Moscow with a career as a diplomat spanning three decades, was confirmed by the Government as the new UK ambassador to the EU at the start of the year.

Steele has been described as 'reliable, meticulous and well-informed' by one source, but another told The Times he is 'slightly more showy and less grounded in reality than you might expect a former SIS person to be'. 

Married father-of-three Mr Steele, 52, spent almost two decades as one of MI6's Russia specialists, also working in Paris. 

A diplomatic service list shows that the ex-spy was posted to the UK's Moscow embassy in 1990 with the title of 'second secretary', serving under ambassador Sir Rodric Braithwaite.

While Steele was there the current British Ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Barrow, who was Ambassador to Moscow before them, worked in the Russian capital for the Foreign Office between 1990 and 1993. 

After leaving the secret service Steele  he set up a security business based in a grand Belgravia office block.

Mr Steele was reportedly hired by enemies of Donald Trump and was asked to do a 'general' trawl on the billionaire's links to Russia. 

Speaking on his LBC radio show yesterday evening, former Ukip leader and Trump ally Nigel Farage claimed a member of the President-elect's team told him the allegations would just make more people think the 'establishment' were 'out to get Trump'.

Mr Farage added: 'I think he looks very much in control. I think support for him across America is growing.' 

Mr Steele's business partner Christopher Burrows was also named as a former MI6 agent, but has not been linked to the dossier.

Liverpool University-educated Mr Burrows, 58, was a Brussels and India expert with the security service.

He describes himself as a former Foreign Office 'counsellor' on his LinkedIn page.

The pair are now the co-directors of Orbis Business Intelligence, a London-based firm which gathers 'strategic insight and intelligence' for corporate clients. They were named by the Wall Street Journal last night.

Speaking outside his Hampshire home, Christopher Burrows said that in light of what has happened, it would be 'inappropriate' to say anything further.

The 58-year-old was also quizzed on the welfare of his business partner Christopher Steele, who was said to be the author of the dossier, but said: 'I cannot possibly comment on that.'

Reports this morning suggested Mr Steele, 52, had fled his Surrey home and 'feared for his life'.

Mr Burrows was today asked if the dossier had been written by his company, Orbis Business Intelligence based in London, but he refused to comment, adding this would be something which might be reviewed in the 'next couple of days'.

Mr Burrows said: 'I think in the light of what has happened it would not be appropriate for me to make a comment on whether Orbis was involved or not.

'This is something we will review in the next couple of days.

'I am not going to make any comment on the dossier.'

Asked if Mr Steele was involved in compiling the dossier, Mr Burrows responded: 'I cannot possibly comment on that.' 

A neighbour of Mr Steele's said he was away for a few days. The Journal said it had also approached Mr Steele through an intermediary, who had said the subject was 'too hot' for Mr Steele to speak about. 

Both men were named as MI6 agents in 1999 when they appeared on a list published online by former British spy Richard Tomlinson. 

MI6 bosses told the Mirror the former spy may now be hiding at a safe house, which could in a different country.

A source said: 'Once his name came out the view was that he could be under threat so steps are being taken to protect him and put him in a more secure environment.'

Only one former British ambassador to Moscow remains in UK government service, Sir Tim Barrow, left with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, is now Britain's ambassador to the European Union. He has privately denied he is the source

Workplace: Mr Steele's business partner Christopher Burrows, who is also based at the office, was also named as a former MI6 agent, but has not been linked to the dossier

WHICH FORMER AMBASSADOR GAVE McCAIN THE DOSSIER?

Steele was posted to the UK's Moscow embassy in 1990 with the title of 'second secretary', serving under ambassador Sir Rodric Braithwaite, pictured

Below is a list of Britain's living ex-ambassadors to Moscow.

Sir Bryan Cartledge: 1985-1988. Sir Bryan served in diplomatic posts in Sweden, the Soviet Union and Japan, before becoming Private Secretary to Prime Ministers, James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher. He was also the UK's ambassador to Hungary from 1980-83.

Sir Rodric Braithwaite: 1988-1992. Sir Rodric was the ambassador during Christopher Steele's posting to Moscow. His other appointments include Foreign Policy Adviser to former Prime Minister, Sir John Major and Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee.

Sir Brian Fall: 1992–1995. Sir Brian Hall served in diplomatic posts in Moscow, Geneva and Washington and was later High Commissioner to Canada from 1989-92. It is also believed he introduced Vladimir Putin to Boris Yeltsin, and organised the Queen's first Russian visit. His daughter, Catherine Fall, was a key member of former Prime Minister David Cameron's close team.

Sir Andrew Wood: 1995-2000. After serving a number of diplomatic posts, including one in Moscow - Sir Andrew became ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1985-99. After retiring from diplomatic duties, he served as an advisor to former Prime Minister Tony Blair. 

Sir Roderic Lyne: 2000-2004. Sir Roderic was a member of HM Diplomatic Service from 1970 to 2004 and later served as Private Secretary to former Prime Minister Sir John Major for foreign affairs, defence and Northern Ireland from 1993 to 1996. He also served on the board of the Iraq Inquiry.

Sir Anthony Brenton: 2004-08. Sir Anthony worked for 30 years in the Foreign Office, working in both London and Brussels as well as spending three years in Cairo. He ran UN issues in the Foreign Office and took charge of preparation for the 1992 'Earth Summit'.

Dame Anne Pringle: 2008-2011.  As well as being the first ever female British Ambassador to Russia, Dame Anne also served in diplomatic appointments in the US, Brussels and at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. From 2001 to 2004 she was also the British Ambassador to the Czech Republic.

Sir Tim Barrow: 2011-2016. Sir Tim was the British Ambassador to Ukraine from 2006-2008 and was also political director at the Foreign Office. He was the British Ambassador to Russia between 2011 and 2015, having previously been posted to Moscow as a young diplomat in the early Nineties. Sir Tim is now Britain's Ambassador to the European Union.

Next door neighbour Mike Hopper said Mr Steele had lived there with his wife and four children for about 18 months.

Mr Hopper, who is looking after the family's three cats, said his neighbour appeared 'normal' when he left on Wednesday morning.

'He did not say where he was going or when he was coming back,' he added.

Mr Steele served MI6 for nearly two decades, and is now the director of a private security and investigations firm called Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd, run out of plush offices in Belgravia, central London.

He was hired to write a dossier on Mr Trump by one of the billionaire's rivals for the Republican candidacy for President. The dossier was ultimately passed to US politicians by a former UK ambassador to Russia, reports said.

The involvement of a former British intelligence officer and ambassador is embarrassing for the Government with Theresa May under pressure to reassure the President-elect that the UK had nothing to do with the 35-page briefing.

However, sources say that Mr Steele did pass on a copy of the 'dirty' dossier to MI6.

Yesterday Mr Trump called the dossier, alleged to have been handed to US Senator John McCain by a former British ambassador, 'fake' and 'phony' and Moscow has dismissed the claims as 'utter nonsense'.

US journalists have spent recent weeks trying to track down Mr Steele for an interview, however he declined requests through an intermediary, who said the subject was 'too hot', reports the Wall Street Journal. 

The British security services had originally tried to block UK news organisations from naming Mr Steele by issuing a so-called D-notice, which requests certain revelations are withheld for security reasons. 

Meanwhile reports emerged last night that Mr Steele could have worked with Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko.

The former KGB man was poisoned with polonium in London in 2006, with an inquiry finding his murder was on the orders of the Russian state.

A source told the Times: 'I think he [Mr Steele] was one of the people who was working with Litvinenko.' 

There have been conflicting reports on Mr Steele, with one source telling the newspaper he was not 'hugely impressed' with his expertise, while another said he was 'deeply expert' on Russian affairs. 

His Linkedin profile is vague about his career history.

However, a diplomatic service list shows that the ex-spy was posted to the U.K.'s Moscow embassy in 1990 with the title of 'Second Secretary', serving under ambassador Sir Rodric Braithwaite.

It is not known how long he was posted at the embassy for, but he is later listed to have served at the UK's Foreign & Commonweath Office in 2003, and as 'First Secretary' at Britain's Paris embassy in 1998.

He founded Orbis in 2009 and a statement on the company's website says: 'Ethical business practice is a fundamental value for the Orbis Business Intelligence team.

'Our documented procedures, developed in conjunction with external legal counsel, ensure compliance with relevant UK, US and EU legislation.' 

The firm also says it has a 'global network' of experts and business leaders and is able to execute 'intelligence gathering operations' and 'complex, often cross-border investigations'. 

The PM's official spokeswoman was asked today if assistance was being given to the former agent - after a so-called DA-notice was issued last night asking media not to reveal his name.

'We are not commenting on this,' she said, From the reports I have seen, those all seem to be about former staff.

'There is a standard process that is followed with regard to the naming of people that have worked in certain roles in the civil service, be they still serving or former roles.

The spokeswoman said she was not aware Mr Trump's team had been in touch with Britain to seek clarification.

She added that preparations are continuing for Mrs May's crucial visit to Washington in the coming weeks - where she is desperate to lay the groundwork for a post-Brexit trade deal.

'We are in touch with the team to continue the planning for the first meeting between the Prime Minister and the President-elect,' the spokeswoman said.

Outrage at BBC claims of SECOND Russian 'dirty dossier' on Trump amid claims they are trying to derail his presidency before it starts 

The BBC was under fire today after it claimed a second 'dirty dossier' on Donald Trump exists and was accused of attaching too much credibility to the first one.

Foreign correspondent Paul Wood said last night that former British spy Christopher Steele is not the only person to say the Kremlin has covert footage related to his sex life.

He said a security source told him of 'more than one tape' on 'more than one date'.

Buzzfeed has been widely castigated - including by Trump himself - over publishing the salacious claims, after CNN reported on its existence, even though they have been unverified.

Last night Mr Trump refused to take a question from a BBC journalist telling the reporter to stand up and then said: 'BBC News - there's another beauty'.

Claims: Foreign correspondent Paul Wood said last night that former British spy Christopher Steele is not the only person to say the Kremlin has covert footage related to his sex life

Row: Last night Mr Trump refused to take a question from a BBC journalist telling the reporter to stand up and then said: 'BBC News - there's another beauty'

But Mr Wood said in a BBC blog last night: 'The former MI6 agent is not the only source for the claim about Russian kompromat on the president-elect. 

'Back in August, a retired spy told me he had been informed of its existence by 'the head of an East European intelligence agency'.

'Later, I used an intermediary to pass some questions to active duty CIA officers dealing with the case file - they would not speak to me directly. I got a message back that there was 'more than one tape', 'audio and video', on 'more than one date', in 'more than one place' - in the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow and also in St Petersburg - and that the material was 'of a sexual nature'.'

But he did add: 'Nobody should believe something just because an intelligence agent says it', adding that no-one had aver seen the video.

The BBC has come under criticism for their coverage.

Tory MP Philip Davies has accused the BBC of jumping on the bandwagon and joining the attempt to smear Mr Trump before he takes over in the Oval Office.

He told MailOnline: 'It seems to me that the BBC are still in Brexit mode, it was a result they couldn't accept and understand and did everything they could to get that overturned.

'And it seems like they're doing exactly the same thing with Trump's election as US president.

'It's more to do with the BBC's agenda than news reports.'

After Mr Wood appeared on TV news last night journalist Iain Dale tweeted: 'The BBC News at Ten just sank to the level of Buzzfeed. An utter disgrace of a report from Paul Wood'.

David Vance wrote: '10 Minutes on the #BBC news and the State Broadcaster is in full 'Get Trump' mode. The bias is visceral and utterly impotent'. 

Donald Trump has dismissed claims in a flimsy dossier of 'dirt' on him but reports that ex-MI6 agent Mr Steele was behind it has piled pressure on Theresa May to reassure him Britain had nothing to do with it

Fury: This angry denial came in a post on the billionaire tycoon's Twitter feed shortly after the report was published by Buzzfeed

The row threatens to overshadow the Prime Minister's visit to Washington later this month, at a time when she is desperate to secure a post-Brexit free trade deal with his administration.

The spokeswoman said No 10 would not be commenting further on the controversy, which could undo work carried out by Boris Johnson to build bridges with Trump's team during a visit to Washington this week. 

Boris Johnson has been urged to appear before MPs to explain the credibility of allegations made against Donald Trump in an explosive dossier.

Senior Labour MP Mary Creagh said it is clear the UK Government has a 'great deal of knowledge' about the issues, with a need for the Foreign Secretary to also explain how Britain is preventing cyber attacks from hostile states.

Mr Steele was reportedly hired by enemies of Donald Trump and was asked to do a 'general' trawl on the billionaire's links to Russia.

Russian sources allegedly told the operative that they had extensive material on the now President-elect - including a secret film of him in the suite where President Obama stayed in Moscow, watching prostitutes committing degrading sex acts, specifically 'golden showers [urination]', on the bed where the president once slept.  

Critics have questioned the credibility of the intelligence dossier because it contains a number of key spelling mistakes.

It also has mistaken references to areas of Moscow an expert on the city would be expected to get right and its claims are not backed up with evidence.

Rubbishing the dossier, Mr Trump has claimed 'sick people put that c**p together', even suggesting that US secret services had leaked it to damage his reputation before his inauguration. 

Carl Bernstein, the Watergate reporter who contributed to the first story about the dossier, claimed yesterday that Senator McCain was handed it by the former British ambassador to Moscow late last year.

The Guardian last night reported that McCain met a man, who they describe as a 'western diplomat', at a conference in Halifax, Canada, who informed him of the existence of the dossier.

The Senator then dispatched an official to to meet the diplomat - who he found at a European airport after being told to look out for a man clutching a copy of the Financial Times.

The pair then drove to the diplomat's house and discussed the document. It was unclear last night whether the 'western diplomat' referred to by the Guardian was the former Russian ambassador referred to by Bernstein.

The identity of the former British ambassador has not been disclosed. There have been nine since 1985.

Only one former British ambassador to Moscow remains in UK government service, Sir Tim Barrow, who went on to be Foreign Office political director and is now Britain's ambassador to the European Union. There is no suggestion he is the source.

Bernstein told CNN: 'It came from a former British MI6 agent who was hired from a political opposition research firm in Washington who was doing work about Donald Trump for both republican and democratic candidates opposed to Trump.

Theresa May should make clear the UK had NOTHING to do with ex-MI6 agent's claims about 'dirty' Russian dossier, says Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage has urged Theresa May to reassure Donald Trump that the UK government had nothing to do with an ex-MI6 agent's claims about a 'dirty' Russian dossier.

The former Ukip leader also argued that the US president-elect had been made stronger by the furore because Americans could see the establishment was 'out to get him'.

Downing Street is trying to distance itself from the row after the British former spy who produced outlandish claims about Trump's sex life and compromising material held by the Kremlin was named as Christopher Steele.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said the US president-elect had been made stronger by the furore because Americans could see the establishment was 'out to get him'

The 52-year-old has fled his £1.5million mansion in west London, telling his neighbour: 'Look after my cat.'

There are also suggestions that a former UK ambassador to Russia was involved in passing the dossier to Republican Senator John McCain - a sworn enemy of Mr Trump.

No10 has so far refused to comment directly on the row. But senior sources insisted today there was no indication that any serving officials were involved in producing or spreading the material.

Sir Tim Barrow, who is thought to have worked there with Mr Steele, is the only former ambassador to Moscow still in the civil service. He was appointed as the UK's envoy to the EU this month.

However, he is understood to have assured Foreign Office bosses he had 'nothing to do' with the memos.  

The PM's spokeswoman has said preparations are continuing for Mrs May's crucial visit to Washington in the coming weeks - where she is desperate to lay the groundwork for a post-Brexit trade deal.

Tory MPs have raised concerns that the controversy over Mr Steele's memos could derail efforts to rebuild the 'special relationship'. 

Backbencher Philip Davies turned up the pressure on No 10 to reassure Mr Trump that the UK Government had nothing to do with the 'dirty' dossier.

He told MailOnline today: 'Whether they say it in public or privately say it to Donald Trump – I'm not really bothered – but as long as the President-elect knows none of this is being done on behalf of the UK as a country or on behalf of the UK as a Government.'

President-elect Donald Trump blasted 'phony stuff' contained in a dirt dossier against him that was released and blasted whoever leaked it – mentioning the intelligence agencies

The extraordinary - and entirely unverified - allegations that Donald Trump ordered prostitutes to commit degrading sex acts in the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow are contained in the dossier

Part of the document, allegedly compiled by former British intelligence agent Mr Steele, is seen above. Click here to see the full document first published by Buzzfeed

'They were looking at Trump's business ties, they saw some questionable things about Russians, about his businesses in Russia, they in turn hired this MI6 former investigator, he then came up with additional information from his Russian sources.

British government must NOT protect ex-spy behind claims of 'dirty' dossier on Trump, says Tory MP

At a dramatic press conference yesterday, Mr Trump called the dossier 'fake' and 'phony', even suggesting US secret services had leaked it to damage his reputation

The government has been warned not to protect the ex-MI6 agent who made outlandish claims about a Russian 'dirty' dossier on Donald Trump.

Tory MPs are urging Theresa May to distance the UK government from the row after the former spy who drew up controversial memos was named as Christopher Steele.

Downing Street has been forced to defend issuing a so-called 'DA-notice' in an attempt to suppress Steele's identity.

The PM's spokeswoman insisted it was 'standard process' to try to avoid ex-agents being exposed. She also stressed that no serving officials seem to have been involved in the memos.

Mr Steele, 52, fled his £1.5million mansion in west London yesterday, telling his neighbour: 'Look after my cat.'

There are also suggestions that a former UK ambassador to Russia was involved in passing the dossier to Republican Senator John McCain - a sworn enemy of Mr Trump.

Sir Tim Barrow, who is thought to have worked there with Mr Steele, is the only former ambassador to Moscow still in the civil service. He was appointed as the UK's envoy to the EU this month.

 

'He was very concerned by the implications of it, he then took it to an FBI colleague that he had known in his undercover work for years, he took it to this FBI man in Rome who turned it over to the bureau in Washington in August.

'And then, a former British ambassador to Russia independently was made aware of these findings and he took the information to John McCain – Senator John McCain of Arizona – in the period just after the election, and showed it to McCain – additional findings.

'McCain was sufficiently disturbed by what he read to take it to FBI director James Comey himself personally, they had a five minute meeting the two men, very little was said, McCain turned it over to him and is now awaiting what the FBI's response is to that information.' 

Yesterday Donald Trump furiously denied he was ever briefed on a dossier of claims passed to intelligence chiefs that he was secretly taped watching degrading sex acts by prostitutes in Moscow.

He said he was never shown or told about the claims - published in full by Buzzfeed after a report by CNN - when he met intelligence chiefs last week.

'Does anyone believe that story? I'm also very much of a germophobe by the way,' he said at a press conference in New York.

He stared down the assembled media for the first time since he won the election Wednesday and opened with a blistering attack on the press and the intelligence community after the release of an unproven dirt dossier on him.

'It's all fake news. It's phony stuff. It didn't happen. And it was gotten by opponents of ours,' Trump said. 

'Sick people – and they put that c**p together.' 

British MPs told MailOnline that Mrs May must act swiftly to reassure the President-elect that the report was not UK-sponsored. 

No10 and the Foreign Office have flatly refused to comment on the memos - which were apparently commissioned by political opponents and have been furiously denied by Mr Trump.

The Russian embassy in London said the government was 'panicking' and trying to drive a wedge between US President-elect Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin

Tory MP Philip Davies said Mrs May's planned visit to Washington in the coming weeks was a huge opportunity to revive the Special Relationship, and nothing should be allowed to overshadow it.

'I hope the British Government confirm to President-Elect Trump that the actions of this individual do not reflect the UK as a whole or the UK Government,' Mr Davies said. 

'We look forward to the Trump presidency re-establishing the special relationship between the UK and the US.' 

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said the timing of the allegations pointed towards an effort to smear Mr Trump just nine days before he takes over in the Oval Office.

He told MailOnline: 'The question is why has this story come out now? Everything happens for a reason. Most things happen for a reason. 

'It already appears to be unravelling. Someone's released the story… I'm sure the source will be revealed in time.' 

Conservative backbencher Nigel Evans told MailOnline: 'It looks like this originated at a time when somebody was trying to undermine his bid for the presidency.

'There was enough stuff that did come out, enough revelations about things that he said – some of which probably did damage his candidacy – that I would thought if there was anything there (in this dossier) it would have emerged.

'Trump is denying it. Putin is denying it. It seems to be one of these fake news things.'

Fellow MP Michael Fabricant said: 'I can well understand the President-Elect's concerns over these stories as they seek to delegitimise his election to President. There are some in the United States who would like to see a re-run of their General Election as part of an anti-Trump campaign.

'They are like some of those in the UK who seek to over-turn the Referendum result and keep us in the European Union.' 

'A tank is pointing a gun at our house': How 'dirty dossier' British spook was monitored by the KGB in Moscow - and they even stole his wife's high heels 

British spook Christopher Steele and his late wife faced extraordinary harassment at the hands of the KGB, MailOnline can reveal.

The former MI6 spy, alleged author of Donald Trump's 'dirty dossier', and wife Laura faced constant monitoring from the Soviet Union's feared secret police force.

The couple, who lived in Moscow while father-of-three Steele worked for the British security services, even complained that Laura's high heels shoes were stolen from their flat - and Russian tank guns were aimed directly at their home.

Steele, 52, was posted to Moscow in 1990, just months after marrying Laura following a whirlwind romance. 

It was a momentous period for the couple in the aftermath of perestroika and the run-up to the collapse of the Soviet Union the following year when Boris Yeltsin became the first President of the Russian Federation. 

Monitored: Steele and wife Laura lived in Moscow while the British spy worked for the British security services, complained that Russian tank guns were aimed directly at their home

Russian links: Steele, who was Second Secretary (Chancery), worked closely with Sir Tim Barrow, now Theresa May's EU Ambassador, in the cramped old British Embassy across the Moscow River from the Kremlin, pictured

Intimidated: Steele's wife, who died in 2009, complained that the feared Soviet secret police even broke into their flat and stole a pair of high heels she was due to wear to dinner while they were in Moscow for three years from 1990

Moscow mission: The couple's friend, Neil, who was best man at their wedding in Lambourn, Berkshire in 1990, said within 18 months of arriving the Soviet Union had collapsed and the radical changes instigated by Boris Yeltsin were underway

The couple's friend, Neil, who was best man at their wedding in Lambourn, Berkshire in 1990, said within 18 months of arriving the Soviet Union had collapsed and the radical changes instigated by Boris Yeltsin were underway. 

'The work was hard, the times were tough and there was constant harassment from the KGB. 

On one occasion, they even stole Laura's favourite shoes – from their flat - just before an official dinner. 

'On the day Yeltsin stood on the tank to proclaim change I rang Laura up. I asked how she was. Characteristically she told me that Chris was fine because he'd been sent on the streets to find out what was going on. 

'What about you,' I asked? 'Fine,' she said, and hesitated slightly before saying she was a little concerned about the tank 500 yards away with its large gun pointing at their block of flats!  

'I visited Chris and Laura in Moscow and recall how proud Laura was of her art, her rug collection, her cat and her husband. And definitely in that order!'

At 26, Steele, who was Second Secretary (Chancery), worked closely with Sir Tim Barrow in the cramped old British Embassy across the Moscow River from the Kremlin.

After spending three years in Moscow, Steele returned to the UK in 1993 as Second Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 

He was later promoted to First Secretary. Barrow, who is now Theresa May's EU Ambassador, also returned to Britain as head of the FCO's Russia Section the same year.

The Steeles moved to Norwood, south east London, and had their two sons, Matthew and Henry before the couple were posted to Paris in 1998, where Steele worked as First Secretary (Financial). Daughter Georgina was born in France two years later.

'They lived with the boys for a while in Annie Lennox's apartment on rue Bonaparte before decamping to the beautiful village of Bougival up the Seine,' recalled Neil. 'This famously was impressionist country - both Monet and Renoir had lived and worked in their village.'

Their time in France was one of the happiest times in their marriage. The couple met in 1988, a year after Steele, who grew up in Surrey with his late father Lionel, mother Janet, older sister Alison, now 55, and younger sister Claire, 49, had joined the FCO.

At that time Laura, the daughter of a Russian-speaking nuclear physicist, who met the Queen after designing a high power laser at Britain’s Atomic Weapon Establishment, was working at accountancy firm Peat Marwick McLintock.

The pair were introduced by Neil as part of a double date and they were engaged just eight months later.

It was a momentous period for the couple in the aftermath of perestroika and the run-up to the collapse of the Soviet Union the following year when Boris Yeltsin became the first President of the Russian Federation

Laura's diary of that day 12th April 1988 read - lunch 12.30 Sue, Neil and Chris Whatsit. 

Neil recalled: 'I failed absolutely but Chris Whatsit was a fast mover - by Christmas he had proposed to Laura and the following July they married. 

it was while they were living in France that Laura first fell ill. The couple moved back to England in 2002, settling first in Epsom, and later in Farnham. 

Beset with health problems, Laura died in September 2009 at Frimley Park Hospital of cirrhosis of the liver. 

She was just 43 years old. She was interred in a personal vault at Guildford Crematorium the following February, on what would have been her 44th birthday.

At her memorial service, her devastated husband Christopher read the poem She is Gone, by David Harkins, while her father David, penned a tribute himself. 

Speaking at the time, her father David, 78, said: 'Laura was a happy outgoing daughter with a wonderful personality.  

It was just six months before his wife's death that Steele set up his company Orbis Business Intelligence, with Christopher Burrows, a former diplomat, who has been posted to East Berlin, Bonn, Athens and Brussels.

Since his wife's death, Steele has kept a low profile. But his life changed the moment he agreed to work for a Washington firm, gathering information on Trump's connections to Moscow. 

Today his father-in-law David Hunt, who found out about his son-in-law's connections to the presidential campaign on the BBC this morning, said: 'I know nothing about this business. He's never gone into any details about work at all. But of course, I am concerned about him.'