Thread by @benrileysmith

NEW: Britain’s spy chiefs are secretly battling Trump to stop classified info from the Russia probe being released.

@Telegraph has talked to a dozen+ UK/US officials about the row. Full details in paper tomorrow, a summary thread below.
telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/2…

1/ The row centres on Trump’s wish to release 22 pages of an FBI application to wiretap Carter Page, one of his former campaign advisers.

The wiretap was first requested in Oct 2016, a month before the US election. Trump allies say it shows FBI overstepped the mark.

2/ Trump announced his plan to release the info in September, then backtracked, now is “very seriously” considering the move again.

A version of the docs has been released but it’s heavily redacted. Here are a few of the pages Trump wants to be made public...

3/ We’ve established that Britain is fiercely lobbying behind the scenes to stop the classified info being released.

It is unclear what’s in there. But these applications tend to have detailed intelligence arguing why a wiretap should be approved.

4/ The heart of UK concern is over exposing sources.

One US intel official: “It boils down to the exposure of people. We don’t want to reveal sources and methods”

Another said UK doesn’t want a damaging “precedent” set. Why would sources share info if it could become public?

5/ The lobbying is v politically sensitive. UK embassy in Washington has been barred from steering journalists.

Theresa May has been kept at arms-length from row. Is understood she hasn’t raised concerns to Trump directly.

6/ One source of concern could revolve around Christopher Steele, the ex-MI6 agent who wrote the infamous memos on Trump-Russia links. His notes were referenced in the FBI wiretap application.

7/ There is a wider story, of which this is a part.

Britain’s intel agencies are increasingly getting dragged into a heated and partisan row in Washington about the origins of the Russia probe....

8/ Trump’s allies are determined to portray the Russia investigation as a ‘deep state’ stitch-up that was out to get him from the start.

The political motive is clear. If voters think FBI is biased and probe is invalid, they’re more likely to wave away its ultimate findings.

9/ The problem for Britain is many of the figures / meetings that triggered the probe were located in the UK.

We spell out some of them in the paper tomorrow.

10/ In recent months, Trump figures have been publicly pointing the finger at UK.

George Papadopoulos, the ex-Trump campign adviser, has claimed the UK tried to spy on him.

He’s appeared on Fox News six times in Sep/Oct/Nov pushing idea he was set up by Western intelligence.

11/ Papadopoulos was sentenced to 14 days in jail for lying to FBI over his contacts with Russian-linked figures.

He told @Telegraph: “The British Government has a lot of explaining to do ... Why was the British intelligence apparatus weaponised against Trump and his advisers?”

12/ Other figures in Trump orbit pushing similar claims. One former close adviser to the president: “You know the Brits are up to their neck."

13/ Not the first time such claims have been made.

Sean Spicer once suggested GCHQ wiretapped Trump Tower. GCHQ called that “utterly ridiculous”.

Wolff book said Tony Blair mentioned UK intel may have surveilled campign to Kushner. Blair called that a “complete fabrication”.

14/ Lastly, worth reiterating that many claims against UK intel made without hard evidence. And there’s a clear political advantage in Trump folk going after UK/US ‘deep state’. So to be taken with big pinch of salt.

But bottom line - it’s a diplomatic nightmare for UK.

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P.s. Story mentioned on our front page tomorrow. More inside. Pls buy a paper copy!