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Diplomat quits over 'brothel' video
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A British diplomat in Russia has resigned after a video allegedly showing him having sex with two prostitutes was posted on the internet.
James Hudson stood down as deputy consul general in Ekaterinburg in the Urals following the furore about the clip.
A link to the film, which lasts four minutes and 18 seconds, was posted on a Russian news website under the title "Adventures of Mr Hudson in Russia".
It shows a portly man wearing glasses enter a room - reportedly a brothel in Ekaterinburg - and sit on a sofa, drinking, and kissing two blonde women who are in their underwear.
The video then cuts to explicit scenes of all three having sex.
It has been suggested that the film was made by agents from Russia's FSB - the successor to the KGB - in order to leave Mr Hudson open to blackmail.
An unnamed security source told The Sun: "Russian intelligence has a long history of making sex films and taking compromising photos to control people or further its aims.
"It is also virtually unthinkable that this could have been widely published online without some sort of tacit official approval."
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) confirmed that Mr Hudson had resigned but refused to comment on whether it was him in the video.
An FCO spokeswoman said: "The FCO expects all its staff to demonstrate high levels of personal and professional integrity and takes all allegations of inappropriate behaviour seriously. That said, we are not in a position to confirm or deny the allegations in this story, and we do not generally comment on individual members of staff or individual personnel matters."
Reader views (1)
Lesson for anyone who is a viable target for blackmail, be it political or financial - don't set up opportunities for the bad guys to take you down. In short, behave yourself or get out of whatever business you're in, because you don't belong there.
- Rogan, Irving, 09/07/2009 15:30
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