UK Intelligence Committee Report Says 'Difficult, Not Impossible' to Prove Russia's Meddling in 2016 Brexit Referendum
"It would be difficult – if not impossible – to prove allegations Russia sought to influence the 2016 Brexit referendum," the committee said. "But either way the government did not want to know and had actively avoided looking for evidence," it added.
London, July 21: The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) of Britain released the much-awaited report on Russian influence in UK's democratic polity. The report puts the onus on successive British governments of failing to take measures to ward off the threat posed by Moscow through social media and other cyber activities.
The 2016 Brexit referendum, considered as the most complex geopolitical crisis before the UK since the end of second World War, is also being partially linked to Russia. Russia Attempted to Hack Coronavirus Vaccine Research, Allege UK, US And Canada.
The report, while stating that Moscow apparently played a role in influencing the voting pattern, said there is lack of conclusive evidence as of yet. The ISC has pinned the blame on the government for failing to assess the threat posed by Russia.
"It would be difficult – if not impossible – to prove allegations Russia sought to influence the 2016 Brexit referendum," the committee said. "But either way the government did not want to know and had actively avoided looking for evidence," it added.
"It was only when Russia completed a ‘hack and leak’ operation against the Democratic National Committee in the US – with the stolen emails being made public a month after the EU referendum – that it appears that the Government belatedly realised the level of threat which Russia could pose in this area," the report further added.
The ISC findings were compiled and ready to be released earlier this year. But the report was stranded for months due to the pending approval from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
PM Boris Johnson, then the Foreign Secretary, was one of the most active campaigners for the "leave vote" during the Brexit referendum. According to experts, Russia was also vying for an exit of the UK from the European Union, in a bid to weaken to the conglomerate of mostly western European nations.
The ISC findings also suggest the role of Russia in influencing the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum vote. Moscow is accused of abetting the leave sentiment among Scottish voters. An exit of Scotland from the United Kingdom was expected to weaken the nation. The voters, however, had by a narrow margin opted to remain in the UK.
"Russia undertook influence campaigns in relation to the Scottish independence referendum in 2014," the report said, adding that it was "potentially the first post-Soviet Russian interference in a Western democratic process."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 21, 2020 04:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).