Many contributors to Redfish films had no idea of its connection to the Kremlin

The documentaries paint Britain on the brink of collapse, crippled by austerity, NHS cuts and racial division.

Viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube, the slick films, fronted by British presenters, appear to be the work of grassroots campaigners seeking to raise awareness of social ills. They feature interviews with trade union leaders, Labour politicians and prominent left-wing activists.

What viewers may not realise is that the documentaries are the work of an enigmatic new media organisation funded by the Russian state.

The organisation, Redfish, is based in Berlin and specialises in creating youth-friendly films highlighting political and social instability in western European democracies.

Last year The Times reported that Redfish, a subsidiary of RT, the television network controlled by the Kremlin, was behind