Men of mystery

Do these five hold the key to solving the riddle of Donald Trump campaign’s links to Russia?

Christopher Steele:

The former MI6 agent wrote memos for a US political research firm alleging ties between Mr Trump and Russia ahead of the 2016 election. He briefed journalists and the FBI on the findings, which included a claim – always denied – that Mr Trump asked prostitutes to urinate on a Moscow hotel bed. The notes were eventually published by Buzzfeed.

George Papadopoulos:

Mr Papadopoulos was living in London when he became a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser. It was in the capital where he reportedly told Alexander Downer, a top Australian diplomat, that the Russians had thousands of Hillary Clinton emails. The claim, made over a gin and tonic, helped trigger the start of the FBI Russia probe.

Joseph Mifsud:

The Maltese academic, who US prosecutors claim had ties to Russia and told Mr Papadopoulos about hacked Clinton emails before they were released, was also based in London. He was an honorary director of the London Academy of Diplomacy. He has disappeared after court filings detailed his alleged dealings with Mr Papadopoulos.

Carter Page:

Another Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, Mr Carter got his doctorate from the University of London and visited the UK before the 2016 vote. He quit the campaign after controversy over a Russia trip. The FBI won approval to wiretap Mr Page in Oct 2016 after arguing he was being recruited by the Russian government, which he has denied.

Stefan Halper:

Mr Halper, an emeritus professor at Cambridge, was named by US media as being an FBI informant who approached Trump campaign figures to look into their alleged ties to Russia. A former White House official in three past Republican administrations, Mr Halper allegedly used his UK academic position to approach Mr Page and Mr Papadopoulos.