UK diplomat quits after sex video surfaces on internet

A British diplomat based in Russia has resigned after a film of him having sex with two prostitutes was posted on the internet. In the video, James Hudson, Britain's deputy consul general in Yekaterinburg, is seen walking into a room - thought to be in a brothel - wearing a dressing gown and holding a wine glass. He kisses one prostitute while another sits on his lap.

The three are soon naked together having sex on a bed. At one point, one of the prostitutes asks Hudson in a heavy Russian accent, "Would you like it?"

Hudson quit his position at the consulate after the four-minute video, entitled 'The Adventures of Mr Hudson in Russia', was posted on a Russian local news website.

The publication of the video is believed to be the climax of a classic Cold War-era spy sting, perpetrated either by the FSB - the successor to the KGB - or even local Mafia gangs who would have used the video to try to blackmail Hudson or simply embarrass Britain.

A security source told the Sun: "It is virtually unthinkable that this could have been widely published online without some sort of tacit official approval."

The 37-year-old, who married in 1996, but was divorced a year later, joined the Foreign and Commonweath Office (FCO) in 1994 and his postings have included Sarajevo, Havana and Budapest.

A Foreign Office spokesman said Hudson had resigned but refused to confirm or deny whether he was the man in the video: "The FCO expects all its staff to demonstrate high levels of personal and professional integrity and takes all allegations of inappropriate behaviour seriously."