The Hillary Clinton campaign helped to fund research that led to the infamous dossier on Donald Trump's Russia connections, it was reported on Tuesday night.

Christopher Steele, a former British spy, compiled the salacious 35-page dossier on Mr Trump’s alleged campaign ties to Russia.

Marc Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) used the Washington-based private intelligence firm, Fusion GPS, to conduct the research, the Washington Post reported citing unnamed sources.

Fusion GPS is then said to have employed Mr Steele, a former MI6 officer, who produced the dossier. The report did not state how much Fusion GPS was paid for the work.

The dossier includes unsubstantiated claims that Russians possess videos involving prostitutes, filmed during a 2013 visit by Mr Trump to a luxury Moscow hotel for the Miss Universe contest, supposedly as a potential means for blackmail.