The British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, stated recently that “it is ‘clear’ Russia interfered with the Brexit vote. He has said before that Russia did interfere with the Brexit referendum and warned that similar activities were taking place in France and Germany.
The Prime Minister told The Rest is Politics podcast that, upon arriving in No. 10, he had asked about possible Russian interference in the 2016 vote, adding: “I’ve had the clear answer that, yes, there was. I think we’ve been too much on the back foot on that actually, and we haven’t informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas,” he added.
In his interview, due to be released on Monday, Burnham said he had discussed the problem of Russian interference with Chancellor Friedrich Merz during his visit to Germany earlier this week. “There is certainly misinformation, disinformation that is emanating from Russia into German politics,” he said. He continued: “These things are important now to put clearly on the record and I believe help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia.”
It is the first time a U.K. prime minister has said Russia sought to sway the 2016 Brexit poll, but there have long been warnings about efforts by the Kremlin to exert influence on U.K. politics. In 2020, Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee published a report into Russian interventions in U.K. elections and referendums. It did not provide a definitive conclusion on whether Russia had attempted to influence the results of the E.U. referendum, but it did criticise successive governments for failing to fully assess or counter the threat.
In response, the Russian foreign minister dismissed the report out of hand and called it “Russophobia”, and a Kremlin spokesman said Russia did not meddle in other countries’ elections.
Typical and normal. I am always reminded, in these cases, of something I was told by a British Diplomat many years ago. He said “Never believe anything until it is officially denied”.
I am publishing this report on Andy Burnham’s words because it is refreshing to hear a senior politician from a major western country state the obvious so clearly and so publicly. Especially with the U.S. President cozying up, more closely and obviously on a daily basis, to Vladimir Putin – Trump’s actions would be considered treason under normal circumstances. I might call it arrant stupidity but, then, it isn’t, because his goal has nothing to do with the U.S., its solely down to his financial greed.
BBC Verify has tracked Russian-linked disinformation campaigns, including using AI, to create fake videos which impersonate journalists and news organisations reporting on Ukraine. One fake news website falsely claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had bought a mansion owned by King Charles at a discounted price.
Earlier this year, Vijay Rangarajan, head of the U.K. Electoral Commission, told MPs that Russian deepfake videos had been “used extensively in elections around the world. There is no reason to assume Britain would be an exception,” he added.
Last month, during his speech to the United Nations, Burnham accused Russian agencies of using “every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people’s fears”. He announced that the U.K. would set up a new centre to “stem the poisonous tide” of disinformation.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We are focused on ensuring our citizens and our institutions are protected from foreign powers and their proxies seeking to threaten lives and undermine our democratic values. “We are doing this by strengthening our powers through the National Security Act, strengthening the resilience of our institutions and critical national infrastructure, strengthening our borders, and strengthening our police and intelligence agencies.”
If you will excuse my language, “about f…. time”. Putin is a brutal dictator, who has been KGB since he was 16, and whose goal is to re-establish, and expand, the Soviet Union, regardless of cost, financial or human. Why anyone, who is not of the same ilk, like Trump, would entertain treating him like some kind of civilized person, I fail to comprehend, Kudos to Burnham for saying it forthrightly.
AND ONE MORE REASON TO REVERSE THE STUPIDITY OF BREXIT!
