An intelligence analyst at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said he was put under pressure to downplay the threat of Russian interference in the 3 November election as it “made the president look bad”.

In a whistleblower complaint, Brian Murphy said he had been demoted for refusing to alter reports on this and other issues such as white supremacy. The directives were illegal, he said. The White House and DHS have both denied the allegations. US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election but President Donald Trump has rejected allegations that his election victory was influenced by Russia, at times questioning findings from his own agencies. An inquiry led by former FBI director Robert Mueller found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign team and Moscow.(BBC)…[+]