London – Russia's relations with Britain went into the deep freeze on Thursday 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 on Thursday 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.
A Russian embassy spokesman said the tweet – which said "MI6 officers are never ex" – "reflected the mood in Russia". A Tory MP said on Thursday 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". In a series of major developments on Thursday, it emerged that:
* Until 2009, Mr Steele worked as one of MI6’s foremost "Kremlinologists" heading the spy agency’s Russia desk;
* He was the first person to conclude Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko had been murdered in 2006 in a Kremlin-sponsored "hit";
* Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, said Mr Steele’s life was in danger;
* Mr Steele and his late wife suffered ‘constant harassment’ by the KGB during his posting to Moscow in the early 1990s, including an incident when Russian agents stole his wife’s favourite shoes;
* The company co-owned by Mr Steele made £1million in profit over the past two years;
* A former senior British diplomat, Sir Andrew Wood, last night confirmed he met a Republican senator to discuss claims Mr Trump had been filmed in a compromising position.
Mr Steele, 52, fled his Surrey home on Wednesday amid concerns there could be a dangerous backlash against him from Moscow. American newspapers named him as the author of the 35-page report, thought to have been commissioned by a wealthy Republican donor who opposed Mr Trump’s bid for the White House.
The explosive dossier alleged Mr Trump had been cosying up to Vladimir Putin and cavorting with Russian prostitutes. The president-elect has dismissed it as "false and fictitious".
And as details of Mr Steele’s extraordinary career emerged, Marina Litvinenko told the BBC: "I believe it is very dangerous, particularly after the death of my husband, because when you just approach very specific information... you just easily might be killed."
Posted over a picture showing three question marks, the Russian embassy tweet read: "Christopher Steele story: MI6 officers are never ex: briefing both ways – against Russia and US President." A spokesman for the 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 the tweet 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 chairman, said: "For a peace-time political relationship, it is about as bad as it could get.
"The mutually official shouting match between UK and Russia isn’t helping either country or wider international relations."
Last month Russia’s top UK diplomat accused Britain of ‘overt hostility’ and of working with Nato to prepare for a "major war" in Europe.
Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, a former Nato secretary-general, told the Lords on Thursday: "We must be aware of and act on the dangers inherent in the present confrontation between Russia and the West. Without the trip-wires and warning arrangements of the Cold War, we are in grave danger of making a mistake or a miscalculation with potentially catastrophic results"
On Thursday details of Mr Steele’s career emerged, including his part in uncovering Russia’s role in Mr Litvinenko’s death. Mr Steele, a Russia expert, worked with Mr Litvinenko, who was fatally poisoned with polonium-210 in London in 2006.
Mr Steele’s partner in Orbis, former Foreign Office official Christopher Burrows, refused to comment on the dossier. He told ITV News: "I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to make any comments at the moment."
Downing Street refused to be drawn on whether the Government had offered any assistance to Mr Steele.