The mysterious London academic accused of telling a Trump aide Russia had 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton to share with him today insisted his 'conscience is clear'.

UK-based Maltese Professor Joseph Mifsud allegedly said 'thousands of emails' were on offer from Moscow in a meeting with George Papadopoulos.

Papadopoulos left the White House reeling last night after he admitted lying to the FBI about meeting him during the presidential election campaign.

Professor Mifsud is not named in the inquiry but confirmed to The Daily Telegraph he was the professor mentioned in the FBI documents indicting Papadopoulos but told them: 'I have a clear conscience.'

He added he was 'upset' by the claims in the papers because they were 'incredible' adding it was untrue he put Papadopoulous in touch with a 'female Russian national' believed to be related to Vladimir Putin.

Today his British mobile was ringing with a foreign tone while Papadopoulos' Twitter feed shows he was in London just six days ago for 'business' before his guilty plea was revealed last night.

Meet the professor: Joseph Mifsud (left ) is accused in FBI papers of telling Trump aide George Papadopoulos (pictured in London) that Russia had 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton they wanted to share

Inner circle: Trump praised Papadopolous as an 'excellent guy' and he was part of a meeting about 'national security' at the same time as he was corresponding with the Russians

Foreign policy consultant Papadopoulos said he had deceived federal investigators about meeting Professor Mifsud in London who allegedly had promised he could provide 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton in the form of 'thousands of emails'.

Professor Mifsud is the honorary director of the London Academy of Diplomacy, which is affiliated to the University of Stirling in Scotland and had denied any wrongdoing.

What happened: Papadopolous was offered 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton by Mifsud at a meeting in London, but he couldn't interest his superiors in meeting Russian officials themselves or paving the way for a Putin-Trump summit, possibly also in London

But Papadopoulos' guilty plea and the accompanying documents were hailed by critics as the most explicit evidence to date that the Trump campaign was aware the Russians were trying to help him win – and that it was willing to accept that help.

Papadopoulos was quietly arrested by the FBI in July and has since been cooperating with an investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election, court records show.

Earlier, in a separate blow to the President, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was charged with money laundering and conspiring against the US.

Mifsud, a 'diplomacy' expert who specializes in energy policy issues, worked for the Malta ministry of foreign affairs and the education ministry in the 1990s.

He was recently listed as director at the London Centre of International Law Practice, but his biography page on the website was removed without explanation two days ago.

The biography described Mifsud as 'the founding father of the term 'Academic Diplomacy',' and said his research is focused on the European Union 'especially accession and enlargement.'

Mifsud currently serves as honorary director of the London Academy of Diplomacy, a diplomatic training institute associated with the University of East Anglia, outside London, and the University of Stirling, in central Scotland.

He has described the academy as 'one of the best diplomatic academies in the world' and says it teaches students 'how to be flexible in thinking, how to engage with the business community and how to act at different levels, from the highest level of diplomacy to more mundane people-to-people skills, as well as the ability to think strategically and geopolitically.'

Mifsud has also spoken about the importance of diplomatic 'branding' in the age of Twitter and the importance of establishing connections between ambassadors and businessmen. In a 2014 interview with the Washington Diplomat he said his role model is Henry Kissinger, who he called 'a fantastic diplomat.'

On March 24, 2016, Papadopoulos met with the professor in London to discuss setting up a meeting between Trump and Putin. The professor reportedly brought along a woman who Papadopoulos believed was Vladimir Putin's niece, a claim the professor denies.

Official: Ivan Timofeev was introduced to the campaign aide by Mifsud who is called 'the professor' in prosecution documents. Another woman who Papadopolous thought was Vladimir Putin's niece was also introduced to him. She was not Vladimir Putin's niece

In the weeks that followed, Papadopoulos, the Russian woman, and the professor allegedly exchanged emails about arranging meetings with officials in Russia.

'As mentioned we are all very excited by the possibility of a good relationship with Mr. Trump. The Russian Federation would love to welcome him once his candidature would be officially announced,' wrote the Russian woman in one email to Papadopoulos.

Mifsud also reportedly introduced Papadopoulos over email to Ivan Timofeev, program director of the Russian International Affairs Council, a think tank in Moscow.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's office announced a guilty plea by former Trump foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos, who concealed information about his conversations with an overseas professor about Russia

The Russian International Affairs Council was established by the Russian government in 2010 and is funded by the ministry of foreign affairs.

Mifsud and Timofeev have a working relationship dating back at least several years.

In 2014, Timofeev met with Mifsud in London to discuss a collaboration between the Russian International Affairs Council and the London Academy of Diplomacy, where Mifsud served as honorary director.

Both Timofeev and Mifsud also spoke at the Russian government-sponsored Valdai Discussion Club on April 18, 2016.

That same day, Mifsud reportedly introduced Timofeev and Papdopoulos by email.

The Trump advisor and the MFA-linked Timofeev went on to have 'multiple conversations over Skype and email' about arranging meetings between the campaign and Russian officials, according to prosecutors.

As the discussions continued, Papadopoulos pressed other Trump campaign officials to consider the proposed meeting between Trump and Putin.

He told one senior campaign official by email that he wanted to 'to discuss Russia's interest in hosting Mr. Trump. Have been receiving a lot of calls over the last month about Putin wanting to host him and the team when the time is right.'

Around the same time, Mifsud allegedly passed on a tip to Papadopoulos about the Russian government tampering in the presidential election.

During a breakfast meeting on April 26, 2016, the professor reportedly told Papadopoulos that 'They [the Russians] have dirt on [Clinton]'; and 'they have thousands of emails.'

President Trump (left) and first lady Melania Trump (right) arrive on the South Portico for the White House's annual Halloween event - amid Special Counsel Robert Mueller making his first charges in the Russia probe

But Papadopoulos's diplomatic efforts seemed to draw little interest from others in the Trump campaign.

Campaign director Corey Lewandowski simply ignored Papadopoulos's messages when he received them in early May.

Lewandowski's successor, Paul Manafort, seemed more open to the idea but nixed the possibility of Trump attending a meeting with Russians.

'We need someone to communicate that [Trump] is not doing these trips,' Manafort wrote to another Trump aide in May. 'It should be someone low level in the campaign so as not to send any signal.'

On June 19, Papadopoulos tried again to get campaign approval for a meeting with Russian officials, offering to attend it himself if Trump couldn't make it.

'The Russian ministry of foreign affairs messaged and said that if Mr. Trump is unable to make it to Russia, if a campaign rep (me or someone else) can make it for meetings?' wrote Papadopoulos to another Trump campaign official on June 19.

'I am willing to make the trip off the record if it's in the interest of Mr. Trump and the campaign to meet specific people.'

The meeting did not occur, and Papadopoulos's exchanges with his Russian connections appeared to stop at the same point, according to prosecutors.