A Russian programmer has been arrested in Spain on suspicion of involvement in attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election, local media reported.

Spain’s national criminal court will consider a US extradition request for Peter Levashov, who was detained at Barcelona airport on Friday, some time in the next month.

A legal source told the AFP that Levashov is “suspected of having participated in hacking the election campaign in the United States."

Mr Levashov’s wife earlier said she had been told her husband’s arrest was linked to alleged interference on the US election.