Big story out of UK on British handling of Steele dossier

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British spy chiefs were briefed on Christopher Steele’s dossier before Donald Trump knew of its existence. Heads of MI5, MI6 + one of Theresa May’s most trusted security advisers all knew of the Russian links claims before Trump.

Lots is known about how the FBI handled the Steele dossier - 17 memos compiled by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele about Trump campaign’s Russia links. But the story of what UK intelligence leaders knew is revealed for the first in tomorrow’s @Telegraph. Story with @rmendick.

Before the Nov 2016 election Steele had been determined to warn the Americans, passing on what he knew to the FBI. But after Trump’s shock win, he decided the claims he uncovered were now an issue of British national security. It was time to approach the UK government...

The man Steele approached was Sir Charles Farr. He was head of the Joint Intelligence Committee - the body that assess intelligence. He had also been a top counter-terrorism adviser in May’s Home Office. Plus Steele had known Farr for 20 years. He would know what to do

Steele and Farr met a week after Trump’s election win. The venue was Farr’s detached house on a suburban street in Wimbledon, South London - an incongruous venue given what they were to discuss.

For hours the pair went through Steele’s explosive memos line by line. Farr would ask questions. Steele would spell out what he knew. After their meeting, Farr reached a conclusion - the dossier had to go up the chain of command.



Within days, according to well-placed sources, the allegations were shared with the most senior intelligence figures in Britain.

MI5 director general Andrew Parker and MI6 chief Alex Younger are both understood to have been briefed.
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Britain’s spy chiefs then had a decision - should they tell May? The PM was used to receiving classified intel from her Home Office days. She is likely to have been aware of Steele’s work from the Litvinenko inquest. But also, she needed to build a relationship with Trump...

teele’s information was “marked up to the top”, according to sources.

But Number 10 figures say categorically that she was not briefed on the dossier.

Exactly why the intel chiefs shielded May from the claims is not known.

Possible reasons could include protecting May given the political need to build a relationship with Trump, uncertainty about elements of the dossier, or delay while verification took place.



Eventually Trump himself would learn about the dossier - but not until Jan 6 2017. That was the day James Comey briefed him one-on-one in Trump Tower.

Just a few days later, on Jan 10, Buzzfeed published the whole thing. Everyone could read the dossier for themselves.

By the end of that month, May flew to Washington to appear by Trump’s side, becoming the first world leader hosted in his White House.

What is the significance of our disclosure? One, it suggests British intel figures treated the Steele dossier with gravity, escalating it rapidly up the system. That is in marked contrast to Trump’s position, which is that the dossier is “fake” and “phony”.

Two, it risks deteriorating UK-US relations. Trump has tweeted criticism of Steele + his dossier more than 50 times in office. He’s also tweeted a claim that British intel services helped spy on his campaign. What will he think of them knowing about the dossier before him?

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