The mayor of Hilversum has described remarks he made on Radio 1 in which he called for the deportation of Putin’s daughter, who is said to live in the Netherlands, as ‘not sensible’.

Pieter Broertjes, the former editor of the Volkskrant newspaper, said he had made the comment ‘out of a feeling of powerlessness, which many people will recognise’.

Maria Putin, 29, is said to live in Voorschoten, close to Wassenaar and The Hague, with her Dutch partner Jorrit Faassen. Faassen is said to have had senior roles in the Russian firms Gazprom and Stroytransgaz.

Protest

The Telegraaf on Monday published a photograph of the block of flats where she is thought to live, saying Ukrainians in the Netherlands had called for a peaceful protest outside the building.

However, according to reports in magazine HP de Tijd, the penthouse where she was said to live was sold two months ago and the Russian president’s daughter no longer lives there.

In total, 193 Dutch nationals were killed a week ago when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was brought down by a missile in Ukraine. Pro-Russian rebels, armed by Russia, are thought to be behind the disaster.

The Guardian says very little is known about Putin’s children and he has strived to keep them out of the public eye.

The AD said last year that Putin had visited his daughter in the Voorschoten penthouse and had even gone shopping in the local Albert Heijn supermarket.