London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Dec 04, 2025

Ex-spy & author of discredited Trump dossier says a ‘queue of people’ would want to play him in a movie, including Daniel Craig

Ex-spy & author of discredited Trump dossier says a ‘queue of people’ would want to play him in a movie, including Daniel Craig

Controversial former British spy Christopher Steele – who wrote the widely-criticized Trump-Russia dossier – said on Saturday that a “queue” of people would want to play him in a film, even suggesting 007 star Daniel Craig.
During an interview with Sky News’ Security and Defence Editor, Deborah Haynes, Steele said, “I would hope there'd be a whole queue of people that might want to play it, because these have been tumultuous times and quite dramatic events.”

Steele also told Haynes that actor Daniel Craig – who has played the fictional MI6 spy James Bond since 2006 – would be interested in playing him in a movie and is a personal friend.

Sky News' interview was the first UK interview with Steele since the controversy surrounding his Trump-Russia dossier. During the interview, Steele also claimed that Russian agents had once planted two wedding rings in his bag during a holiday to the Caribbean and said it was “possible” that Russian President Vladimir Putin had once served him “a cup of tea” when he was a part of a UK delegation to St. Petersburg, though did not provide much evidence for his fantastic claims.

Politico London Playbook editor Alex Wickham mocked Steele's comments on Saturday, tweeting, “Extremely normal for a former MI6 officer to give a TV interview in which he claims there'll be ‘a queue’ of people who want to play him in the movie of his life, and he's hoping for Daniel Craig…”

Others criticized the whole interview, questioning, “Is this news?” and calling Steele's claims “a complete joke.”

“Sky News you should be ashamed of yourselves, this guy is a proven liar and his fake dossier was proven to be all a lie, but you guys give him airtime,” one critic wrote.

Steele's infamous dossier, which was part of an opposition research campaign commissioned by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign against Donald Trump, has been widely discredited since it first appeared in the media five years ago.

The dossier contained unverified, sensationalist claims about Trump – most notably the allegation that Trump had been blackmailed by Russia with tapes of him engaged in sexual activities in a Moscow hotel – and was used during the probe into Trump's alleged ties to Russia, which were ultimately disproved.

Despite initially receiving support from liberal commentators in the US, the accuracy of Steele's dossier was eventually called into question by even those who believed Russia had attempted to influence the 2016 election.

Former US acting-director of the CIA, Michael Morell, was one such critic of the dossier, despite having endorsed Clinton during the election and supported allegations of Russian interference.

“Unless you know the sources, and unless you know how a particular source acquired a particular piece of information, you can't judge the information — you just can't,” Morell said, arguing that since Steele paid his sources for information, they would have been incentivized to share “innuendo and rumor” because “they want to get paid some more.”

Morell added that “on the question of the Trump campaign conspiring with the Russians here, there is smoke, but there is no fire, at all.”

Steele’s own “primary sub-source” described his quotes in Steele’s dossier as “misstated or exaggerated;” and former FBI Director James Comey admitted under oath that his agency never bothered to corroborate its findings, even after they used the dossier to justify a surveillance operation against the Trump campaign.

Steele worked for MI6 between 1987 and 2009, and led the intelligence agency's Russia desk, before founding a private intelligence company.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Promises ‘Full-Time’ Education for All Children as School Attendance Slips
UK Extends Sugar Tax to Sweetened Milkshakes and Lattes in 2028 Health Push
UK Government Backs £49 Billion Plan for Heathrow Third Runway and Expansion
UK Gambling Firms Report £1bn Surge in Annual Profits as Pressure Mounts for Higher Betting Taxes
UK Shares Advance Ahead of Budget as Financials and Consumer Staples Lead Gains
Domino’s UK CEO Andrew Rennie Steps Down Amid Strategic Reset
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
×