'I'm proud my Katia proved MI5 wrong'

The father of the young Russian woman who won her fight to remain in Britain after being cleared of spying today praised her bravery for taking on the British security services.

Katia Zatuliveter, 26, was found to have been in a "genuine" loving relationship with married MP Mike Hancock, 65, and not a "honeytrap spy" as alleged by MI5.

Ms Zatuliveter won her appeal against deportation as an immigration tribunal ruled her four-year relationship with the Liberal Democrat MP, during which time she became his parliamentary aide, was not at the instruction of the Russian intelligence agency FSB.

Her father, Andrei Zatuliveter, told the Standard today he was overjoyed that his daughter had been vindicated after making a stand against MI5.

"We are totally happy, absolutely excited," he said from southern Russia. "I have spoken to my wife and shared the news. I was sure, I believed in it until the last minute, and this is what I told my daughter - if there's no justice in England, there is no justice anywhere in this world."

In court yesterday intimate details of Ms Zatuliveter's sexual relationships with Mr Hancock, a Dutch diplomat and a Nato official emerged. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission ruled her diary entries proved her relationship with Mr Hancock was authentic. She wrote in June 2006, when the MP was away: "I wish there was at least some news. I stay at home all day. What if he calls me? My darling Teddy Bear. I so want to see you, to feel you with my naked body. Let the moment of our next meeting come the soonest possible. I love you my King Louis!" Ms Zatuliveter accused the security services of being "unprofessional and paranoid". She said: "If I can describe it in war terms it would be me on a horse with a sword against tanks and aircraft."