An electric teapot given to the Queen as a present by Russia has reportedly been removed from Balmoral as a possible security threat.

The suspicious samovar was apparently sitting in a room at Balmoral

The samovar was identified as a potential bugging device following a recent sweep by the security services.

The ornate red and yellow urn was presented to the Queen by a Russian aerobatics team about 20 years ago, at the tail end of the Soviet era.

It reportedly became a favourite of the Queen Mother, who put it in a corner of a room in the Aberdeenshire estate and apparently showed it off to visitors.

Security services apparently suspected that the complicated eastern European wiring could have concealed a listening device.

If true, the teapot could have listened in to the Queen's conversations with prime ministers, world leaders and members of her family.

"The wiring looked as if it came from a Second World War tank and it was not exactly pretty.