British spy ‘tried to recruit oligarch to give data on Trump’

CHRISTOPHER STEELE, the former MI6 officer who attracted Donald Trump’s fury for drafting a dossier of allegations about collusion with Moscow, was involved in efforts to turn a Russian oligarch into an informer, according to newly released emails.

They reportedly reveal that the British agent helped US officials target Oleg Deripaska, a Kremlin-linked billionaire, as part of an effort to persuade influential figures to pass on information about assistance given to Mr Trump’s election campaign.

The details were revealed in emails obtained by The New York Times, which said they had been passed from the Department of Justice to Republicans.

They will be seized on by Mr Trump’s allies as further evidence that Mr Steele – a frequent target of their attacks – was part of a “deep state” conspiracy to bring down the president.

In the latest twist, The New York Times reported that the FBI and the justice department attempted from 2014 to 2016 to turn Mr Deripaska, once Russia’s richest man, into an informant, suggesting they could ease a string of legal woes and help secure US visas.

In return, they asked during a 2015 meeting for information on organised crime and, a year later, on possible Russian aid to Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign, according to former and current officials and figures close to Mr Deripaska.

In one email, Mr Steele said his company had “sensitive” research suggesting that Mr Deripaska and other oligarchs might be chafing at Kremlin pressure to toe the government line.

Mr Steele also acted as a go-between, setting up a meeting between Mr Deripaska and US officials in 2015.