Ex-British spy who compiled unproven Trump dossier surfaces

Former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele in London, on March 7, 2017. (Victoria Jones / PA via AP)

LONDON - A former British spy who compiled an explosive and unproven dossier on President Donald Trump's purported activities in Russia has returned to work.

Christopher Steele said Tuesday he is "really pleased" to be back in his London office after a prolonged period out of public view. He went into hiding in January after his name was published in connection with the dossier.

The 52-year-old runs London-based Orbis Business Intelligence, a private security firm. He made a statement outside the firm's central London office.

"I'm now going to be focusing my efforts on supporting the broader interests of our company here," he said without addressing the Trump dossier.

He thanked the public for its support and said he won't be making any further comments.

Trump has described the lurid reports in the dossier as "phoney allegations" concocted by his political opponents.

The dossier was reportedly produced as opposition research for the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

It contains unproven allegations of co-ordination between Trump's advisers and Russians on hacking the emails of prominent Democrats and claims about sexual activities.

The 35-page dossier was circulated in political and media circles in the United States but was not published for some time because the information could not be verified.

The entire contents became public in January when it was published by BuzzFeed.

The Associated Press has not authenticated the claims.