Donald Trump has dismissed as "fake news", claims that Russia officials had developed compromising and embarrassing information about him in an attempt to exert influence over him.

In a tweet written entirely in capital letters, the President-elect said: "Fake news – a total political witch hunt." For now, he provided no other details, or evidence.

The blunt comment came amid a flurry of reports that said senior US intelligence officials last week presented to both President Barack Obama and Mr Trump, a summary of unconfirmed reports that said Russia had collected compromising and salacious personal information about the 70-year-old Republican.