The Sunday Times November 19, 2017 3

NEWS

deal to bring the 2013 Miss Universe con-test to Moscow. He adds: “I can’t com-ment about the contents of the Steeledossier, but I can tell you there were onlya very few hours during a very busyschedule when Trump was back in his[hotel] room.”

It was three years later that the56-year-old publicist sent the now notori-ous email on behalf of his client, EminAgalarov, a Russian pop star, who said hisoligarch father had “incriminating”material about Hillary Clinton.

“I should have listened to that littlevoice in my head,” says Goldstone. “Iremember specifically saying to Emin:‘You know, we probably shouldn’t get

involved in this’.” Goldstone dulyapproached Trump Jr offering “official”Russian documents that he claimed“would be very useful to your father”.Trump Jr swiftly replied: “If it’s what yousay it is, I love it.”

The meeting that followed wasattended by senior Trump campaignfigures and a Russian delegation thatincluded Natalia Veselnitskaya, a lawyerwith Kremlin ties.

It ended inconclusively and Goldstonebelieves the Russians used the promise ofdirt on Hillary as a “pretext” to lobby theTrumps on unrelated issues.

“If I’m guilty of anything, and I hatethe word guilty, it’s hyping the message

Philip Sherwell

One day he may come to be rememberedas the British music publicist whobrought down Donald Trump, but RobGoldstone insists he was merely a “usefulidiot” whose contacts with a Russianpop star accidentally plunged him into anAmerican presidential scandal.

“I never thought in a million years thatan email I wrote to [Trump’s son DonaldTrump Jr] . . . would be examined by theworld many times over,” Goldstone tellsThe Sunday Times Magazine today in anexclusive interview after his emergenceearlier this year as a central figure in theUS justice department investigation intoRussian interference in the 2016 presi-dential election.

Goldstone left his home in New Jerseyearlier this year for a planned trip to theFar East before the publication of theJune 2016 email in which he offered to setup a meeting with a Russian lawyer withKremlin ties who supposedly possessed“dirt” on Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Demo-cratic rival.

“There are people saying that I’ve runaway or I’m some sort of fugitive,” saysGoldstone, who gave the interview oncondition that his exact whereaboutswere not disclosed. “But I want to sharewhat I know . . . I’m keen to talk to [thejustice department] and put my recollec-tion of events in the public record.”

He has accepted an invitation to meetthe investigation team headed by RobertMueller, the former FBI director.

When the exchange of emails betweenGoldstone and Trump Jr surfaced last Julyit transformed the Russian collusion sagafrom a lingering nuisance into a potentialcrisis. The new US president had alreadybeen embarrassed by claims in aso-called dirty dossier — compiled byChristopher Steele, a former Britishspy — that he cavorted with prosti-tutes during a stay at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow in 2013.Trump dismissed the allega-tions as “fake news” by “sickpeople”.

Goldstone was workingwith Trump at the time on a

British ‘useful idiot’ comes clean over Trump and dirt on HillaryIn his first interview the publicist at the heart of the storm over the president’s links to Russia admits he ‘puffed up’ the key email

JONATHAN ERNST

Rob Goldstone, left, made an offer to find ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton for Donald Trump

and going the extra mile for my clients,”he says. He claims he “puffed up” thewording of his email to secure the meet-ing with Trump.

The US president has dismissed thecollusion allegations and denounced theinvestigation as a “witch-hunt”.

Goldstone says he does not knowwhether there was any other collusionwith the Russians: “But I’m sure I wasn’tpart of it.”

THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE‘I never thought my email wouldbe read by the world’Pages 8-17

Plastic pollution is killing whales

Whales feeding in the deep ocean, far from land, have been filmed battling with plastic pollution, finding themselves tangled in bags and with their calves dying from poisoning.

The BBC team behind tonight’s Blue Planet II episode sought out short-finned pilot whales in the Atlantic which are renowned for forming close family units.

What the team found was amother carrying a dead calf in its mouth with other adults refusing to feed in apparent sympathy. Another whale in tonight’s episode was pictured with a plastic bag wrapped around a fin.

Dr Paul Jepson, a wildlifehealth expert at the Zoological Society of London and an adviser to Blue Planet II, said plastic ingested by mother whales had been shown to turn their milk toxic: “We know chemical pollutants can cause the death of a calf. Ingesting plastic may increase the accumulation of pollutants in the whales themselves.”

Dr Andrew Brownlow, a veterinary pathologist who works with the Scottish Marine Mammal Stranding Scheme, said: “Some populations of whales and dolphins are among the most contaminated animals on the planet. This could be having disastrous consequences on their long-term viability.” @jonathan__leake

Jonathan Leake

Plastic infests even deep seas

in some sort of health and social care, and for a while now the epilepsy has been holding her back.”

However, recently Gaia’s online posts had become more troubling and erratic, with mentions of “pedos” and “bisexual predators”.

At the time of her disappearance she was reported to be sufferingfrom post-traumatic stress disorder after learning that a man she was afraid of was due to leave prison.

Gaia had also been suffering near-daily seizures and doctors had advised that she was at risk of sudden death from her condition.

Gaia was not thought to have her medication with her

Police officers searching for Gaia Pope have said they are “confident” that a body discovered in a clifftop field near Swanage yesterday afternoon is that of the missing teenager.

The discovery came afterhundreds of volunteers scoured the Dorset countryside near the home of the 19-year-old, an epilepsy sufferer who was last seen12 days ago.

The body was found at about 3pm yesterday by specialist search teams near the coastal path and field where items believed to be her clothing were discovered last week.

There has yet to be any formal identification but police were offering support to her family last night.

In a tearful television interview her sister Clara, 21, said Gaia was “the absolute light of my life, so beautiful, so emotionally wise and intelligent”.

Gaia’s cousin, Marienna Pope-Weidemann, added: “This afternoon the emergency services found Gaia’s body. Our little bird has flown but will always be with us.”

Detective SuperintendentPaul Kessell of the Dorset police major crime investigation team, said the coroner had been informed about the discovery of a body, describing the cause of death as “unexplained”.

Clothes matching those Gaia was wearing — a red checked shirt, grey-and-white leggings and white trainers — had been found at Durlston country park on Thursday.

Before yesterday’s discovery her father, Richard Sutherland, had addressed volunteers after more than 300 people turned out to search for her, thanking them for their “heartwarming efforts”.

Earlier, her mother, Natasha Pope, an actress who

has appeared in television dramas, had posted onsocial media that she still had hope her daughter would be found alive.

The family had set up a Find Gaia Facebook group to spread the message beyond the immediate area, but in some cases the sightings turned out to be her twin sister Maya or Clara.

Gaia’s social media profilesrevealed a bubbly character who was, according toher father, a “typical teenager”.

Sutherland said last weekthat his daughter had “agreat spirit, a big heart”, adding: “She is a very loving girl. She had great ambitions in her life to be in nursing or

Mary O’Connor on the day she went missing, November 7.

Her family home was in Langton Matravers, a village with a population of less than 1,000, but she had been staying with her aunt in nearby Swanage at the time.

An hour before she disappeared Gaia was captured on CCTV buying ice cream at a garage. She then returned to her aunt’s home but left at about 3.45pm without her phone and was filmed soon afterwards running through the town towards Manor Gardens.

Last week detectives arrested three members of the same family from Manor Gardens: Rosemary Dinch, 71, her son, Paul Elsey, 49, and her 19-year-old grandson, Nathan Elsey, a former schoolfriend of Gaia. All three were released pending further investigation.

Dinch and Nathan Elsey were arrested after Dinch saidin a television interview that the missing girl had been in her home on the afternoonof her disappearance and seemed to be in a distressed state. She said Gaia had fled the first-floor flat and left her jacket behind.

Paul Elsey was released late on Friday without charge.

Paul Elsey’s father, Greg Elsey, who is separated from Dinch, described the police handling of the investigation as “terrible” this weekend, adding: “My family hastotally been the victim of a witch-hunt. They should start looking elsewhere.”

He sought to clarify comments he had made in an interview last week in which he said his son “didn’t like Gaia”, insisting that he had meant her family as a whole rather than Gaia in particular.

“Paul is not necessarily private but if he doesn’t like people he just won’t get involved with them; he keeps out of it. He was like that with their family,” Elsey said.

Heartache as police believe body found in field is Gaia

Gaia, left, with her twin sister Maya and older sister Clara

Gaia filmed on garage CCTV an hour before she disappeared

LangtonMatravers

SWANAGE

Last sighting on November 7

1 mile

Remains were discovered near a coastal path and field where items of clothing were found on Thursday