Christopher Steele, the British spy who came back to work

Christopher Steele, former British intelligence officer, in London. Photo / AP

Christopher Steele, the former British spy who went into hiding after he was named as the author of a dossier containing allegations about President Donald Trump, has broken his silence.

Steele and his family went into hiding in mid-January after it was revealed he wrote a 35-page report that alleged Russia has compromising material on Trump.

Trump dismissed the the dossier as "fake news" and called Steele a "failed spy." He also said in an interview with the Times: "Well, that guy is somebody that you should look at, because whatever he made up about me it was false."

It was unclear when - or even if - Steele would surface again. But today, he appeared outside Orbis Business Intelligence, his company located in a swanky London neighbourhood, a short distance from Buckingham Palace.

"I'm really pleased to be back here working again at the Orbis's offices in London today," he told the Press Association.

"I'm now going to be focusing my efforts on supporting the broader interests of our company here. I'd like to say a warm thank you to everyone who sent me kind messages and support over the last few weeks," he said. "Just to add, I won't be making any further statements or comments at this time."Steele was wearing a black suit and appeared calm when talking to the camera, but he gave only a brief statement. He did not comment on his whereabouts over the last several weeks, or on the reports that Democrats have informally contacted him to ask whether he would testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

And with that, he turned away from the camera and walked up steps leading to his office.