Ex-MI6 officer behind the Trump dossier now ‘fears for his life’

A former British intelligence officer behind the dossier containing explosive but unverified claims about Donald Trump has fled his home fearing for his life, a report says. Christopher Steele, a former MI6 officer who now runs an intelligence-gathering firm in London, has been identified as the author of the document, which alleges that Russia had amassed compromising material about the US President-elect. Mr Trump, in a news conference, denounced the 35-page dossier as “nonsense”, “fake news” and “phony stuff”.

He is terrified for his and his family’s safety

Unnamed source about Mr Steele

Mr Steele, 52, fears a backlash from Moscow now that his name has been made public, the Daily Telegraph said. According to the report, the former spy packed his bags, left his cat with a neighbour and fled his home in Surrey on Wednesday morning. Mr Steele reportedly was a spy in Russia in the 1990s and has maintained several contacts there. He serves as director of Orbis, a firm founded in 2009 by former British intelligence professionals.

Politics