While Mr Trump has said he will improve relations with Russia, the country’s relationship with the UK may be souring.

Russia has claimed Britain is launching an “official witch-hunt” against Mr Putin’s administration in an 800-word statement posted online on Tuesday by the country’s embassy in London.

The outburst railed against Western "hysterics" and said the "elite" were protecting their interests with money from TV licences.

"It seems that the Western elites will go to great lengths to save their own world with its Washington consensus, Davos and austerity, even if it does no longer benefit anybody else," the statement said. "Its demise is presented as the end of the world, another twilight of Europe.

"This panic and hysterics is a response to the overall loss of control, which brought about war a hundred years ago.

"It is also a loss of control over the public debate, exercised by way of the Orwellian newspeak of political correctness. Will the elite protect its vested interest with taxpayers’ money and that of TV licences?"

The long-ranging statement, which also set out Russia's interpretation of world events including the "successful humanitarian evacuation of East Aleppo", came amid a war of words between Britain and Russia.

Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that hacking was just one of the “dirty tricks” carried out by Vladimir Putin's government, revealing for the first time that British officials share the assessment by American intelligence agencies that the Kremlin interfered in the US election.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson said it was "pretty clear" Moscow was behind the hacking and that the Russian government "is up to all sorts of very dirty tricks, such as cyber-warfare."

The foreign secretary made the comments as he briefed the House about a meeting with senior advisers to Mr Trump on the weekend.

“If you look at what the Russians have done in the western Balkans and on cyber-warfare, it is clear they are up to no good,” Mr Johnson said.

However, he said, it “would be folly further to demonise Russia or to push Russia into a corner.”