Russian media ignores 'spy' scandal

The case of the alleged "honeytrap spy" and her affair with a British MP has been swept under the carpet by Russian state media.

Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock resigned from the defence select committee yesterday as details emerged of his four-year sexual relationship with Katia Zatuliveter.

A Special Immigration Appeals Commission panel heard testimony from an MI5 officer claiming Ms Zatuliveter, 26, was "directed by the Russian Intelligence Service" to begin a sexual relationship with the married MP to get access to sensitive information.

Ms Zatuliveter, who has been likened to the Russian spy "femme fatale" Anna Chapman, is fighting deportation, claiming her relationship with Mr Hancock was genuine.

Details of her alleged links to Russian intelligence have made headlines in Britain and around the world - except in her home country.

In a short report on the website of Russia Today, a Kremlin-funded channel broadcasting in English which has recently employed Ms Zatuliveter as a commentator in Britain, ignored the affair and referred to Mr Hancock only as her "former boss".

Channel One in Russia, seen as the equivalent of the BBC, and state-controlled channel RTR failed even to mention the case, though it has been covered by editorially independent Echo Moscow radio and independent Dozhd TV.