Andy Burnham has said Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum, telling The Rest is Politics podcast that he was given a “clear answer” on the question after arriving in Downing Street.
The prime minister said he had asked about possible Russian interference in the vote, adding: “I’ve had the clear answer that, yes, there was.”
Burnham did not provide further details about the type or extent of Moscow’s activity during the referendum.
He said: “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.”
Warning over Germany and France
In the interview, which is due to be released on Monday, Burnham said he had discussed Russian interference with Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to Germany earlier in the 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.”
Campaign group rejects claim
Britain Unbound, a pro-Brexit campaign group, said Burnham’s comments were “another crude attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the decision that the British people made in 2016”.
It said foreign interference in UK elections was “obviously unacceptable”, but added: “There is no good reason to believe that Russian intervention influenced the outcome of the referendum in 2016.”
“It is also insulting to suggest that voters were so easily duped,” it said.
Long-standing warnings
The remark is the first time a UK prime minister has said Russia sought to sway the 2016 Brexit poll, although warnings about Kremlin efforts to exert influence on UK politics go back years.
In 2020, Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee published a report into Russian interventions in UK elections and referendums. It did not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Russia had attempted to influence the results of the EU referendum, but criticised successive governments for failing to fully assess or counter the threat.
Russia’s foreign minister dismissed the report out of hand and called it “Russophobia”. A Kremlin spokesman said Russia did not meddle in other countries’ elections.
In the same year, the then-Conservative government said it was “almost certain that Russian actors sought to interfere” in the 2019 general election.
Disinformation campaigns tracked
BBC Verify has tracked Russian-linked disinformation campaigns, including the use of AI to create fake videos impersonating 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 UK Electoral Commission, told MPs that Russian deepfake videos had been “used extensively in elections around the world”. He added: “There is no reason to assume Britain would be an exception.”
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 UK would set up a new centre to “stem the poisonous tide” of disinformation.
Downing Street response
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.”
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