Professor Mifsud was named as a defendant in a lawsuit by US prosecutors last week

A London professor who became embroiled in the US investigation into Russian collusion is missing and feared dead, a US court has been told.

Joseph Mifsud, 57, a former politics teaching fellow at Stirling University who also worked at the London Academy of Diplomacy, held meetings with George Papadopoulos, 31, a former Trump adviser jailed on Friday for lying to investigators about his contacts with individuals linked to Russia.

Last week Professor Mifsud, who was born in Malta, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit by the Democratic National Committee [DNC], which is suing Russia, the Trump campaign and Wikileaks for interfering in the 2016 election. The DNC said in its court documents that he was the only defendant who had not been served