Image copyrightSVETLANA LOKHOVA

When Svetlana Lokhova saw the internet light up with suggestions she was a Russian spy, she initially thought it was a joke. But the Russian-born academic soon found herself, in her words, “collateral damage” in the controversies surrounding the Trump administration and the swirl of allegations about Russian espionage.

The claims revolved around her contact with Gen Michael Flynn in Cambridge in 2014. Flynn resigned after just 24 days as US National Security Adviser after allegations he had failed to be honest about contacts with the Russian Ambassador to the US during the transition to the Trump administration.

After his resignation in February, there were reports in the US and UK media about Lokhova, including the claim that Flynn’s contact with Lokhova “troubled” US intelligence officials. On social media, the suggestionwas that she was some kind of Russian spy or honeytrap.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

“Are you a Russian spy?” I begin by asking her. “Absolutely not,” she replies. “I have no formal or informal connection with Russian intelligence whatsoever.”

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