London: Britain's Nigel Farage, a leading Brexit campaigner, has branded as "hysterical" a new report stating he is a "person of interest" in the US investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

The Guardian newspaper said on Thursday that Farage had not been accused of wrongdoing and was not a suspect or target of the US investigation.

But it said the former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) had "raised the interest" of FBI investigators because of his relationships with individuals connected to both the Trump campaign and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The report stated being a person of interest meant "investigators believe he may have information about the acts that are under investigation and he may therefore be subject to their scrutiny."

Mr Farage met Mr Assange in March this year at the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he has been holed up for five years.