Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May waits to greet her New Zealand counterpart Bill English at Number 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said the person who wrote reports containing details of compromising material Russia allegedly collected on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has not worked for the British government for years.

“It is absolutely clear that the individual who produced this dossier has not worked for the UK government for years,” May said at a news conference on Friday.

The author of the dossier has been named as Christopher Steele, a former MI6 officer who once worked under diplomatic cover in Russia. Steele has so far not commented.