Christopher Steele, the ex-spy behind the Trump dossier, told one of Theresa May’s security advisors about his memos
British spy chiefs were secretly briefed on a dossier about Donald Trump’s ties to Russia – months before the President even knew it existed.
Christopher Steele wrote a report made up of 17 memos which made wild claims, denied by Trump, that he ordered prostitutes to carry out ‘degrading sex acts’ including ‘golden showers’ in a Moscow hotel, which was secretly filmed by the Kremlin’s secret police.
British ex-intelligence officer Mr Steele told one of Theresa May’s top security advisors about his memos which made up the ‘dirty dossier’, as well as the heads of MI6 and MI5, in the weeks after Mr Trump was elected in 2016, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Mr Trump only learned of the allegations in January 2017 when he was alerted by the FBI. Days later the website BuzzFeed published the full version online.
Mr Steele’s dossier was full of allegations that Mr Trump dismissed as a ‘failing pile of garbage’, including that he hired prostitutes to perform a sex act in a Moscow hotel.
It also contained allegations of Russian interference in Mr Trump’s election campaign.
A report by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller, published this year, concluded there was no collusion by the Trump campaign.
Trump attends final of the competition Miss Universe 2013 in Crocus City Hall in Moscow
One of Prime Minister Theresa May’s top security advisors was told about the ‘dirty dossier’ before Trump found out about it, but the PM was reportedly not informed about it
Mueller’s team found no evidence of these claims or tape.
Another claim – that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen met with Russian officials in Prague – was also not stood up and no evidence of it was found by Mueller.
Steele, who runs a private intelligence firm, had supplied a dossier to an outside company used by Hillary Clinton’s election committee.
Mr Steele first approached British intelligence at the £1.7million home of Sir Charles Farr, the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, in Wimbledon, south-west London.
Mr Farr, who died in February at 59, was one of Mrs May’s top counter-terrorism advisors at the Home Office.
After leading MI6’s Russia desk, Mr Steele set up a private firm, and was hired by Fusion GPS, a US research company being paid by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
After meeting Mr Farr, it was concluded that the 17-memo dossier needed to be reported higher.
Special counsel Robert Mueller could find no evidence backing up Christopher Steele’s dossier claims, made up of 17 memos
It was shared with Alex Younger, MI6 chief, and Andrew Marker, MI5 director general.
No10 sources state Mrs May was never briefed on it.
Mr Steele went into hiding after the claims emerged in March 2017, sparking scandal around the world and a storm of controversy in Washington DC.
After the dossier was leaked and published, Mr Trump claimed ‘sick people put that c**p together’ and called the dossier ‘fake’ and ‘phony’.
The president even suggested that US secret services had leaked the document to damage his reputation before his inauguration.
He debunked the ‘golden shower’ claim by saying: ‘Does anyone believe that? I’m a germophobe’.
The dossier was said to have been used as part of the FBI’s justification in launching a probe into the 2016 Trump campaign that is now the subject of controversy over the use of surveillance.
Trump has also claimed UK intelligence services were involved in spying on his campaign.
Former FBI director James Comey famously briefed Trump on the contents of the dossier and its salacious unverified claims after the election, during the transition.
Trump would ultimately fire Comey after complaining about the Russia probe, in an incident that featured in Mueller’s probe of possible obstruction of justice by the president.
The president is due to arrived in the UK for a state visit on June 3 for a three-day trip.
Mr Steele spied in Moscow in the 1990s and is believed to have been one of Britain’s most senior intelligence officers in Russia as the Soviet Union collapsed.
After leaving the service he formed Orbis Business Intelligence, a London-based firm which gathers ‘strategic insight and intelligence’ for corporate clients, including helping the FBI uncover corruption at FIFA.
Steele’s work led to a lucrative deal to dig for dirt on Trump’s dealings with Russia, and he was paid Steele paid $168,000 by US-based company Fusion GPS.
Fustion had been paid $1.8million via lawyers representing the Democrats and the Hillary Clinton campaign.