British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the UK is “clear” there was Russian interference in the Brexit referendum, arguing the issue should be stated plainly as Europe grapples with a surge in far-right politics.
Mr Burnham said that after entering No 10 in the summer, he asked directly whether Moscow had interfered in the 2016 vote on leaving the European Union and received what he described as “the clear answer that yes there was”.
He said he wanted to put this “clearly on the record” to help voters in Germany and France recognise that “some of this politics is instigated via our enemies”—a reference to Russia—at a time when far-right parties are gaining ground in both countries.
Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee concluded in 2020 that the Government did not fully assess the potential impact of Russian state-run media and “troll” accounts on the EU referendum.
Speaking to the Rest Is Politics podcast, due to be released tomorrow, Mr Burnham said he raised the threat posed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz when they met in Berlin this week.
Britain voted to leave the EU on 23 June 2016
With Mr Merz facing the political fallout from the AfD’s recent regional election successes, Mr Burnham said: “One thing I did say to Chancellor Merz – is we need to support you in taking on the threat that you face and particularly the type of politics that you’re facing.
“You know he was saying to me that the AfD are clearly linked to Russia, funded I believe.”
Mr Burnham added: “There is certainly misinformation, disinformation that is emanating from Russia into German politics.”
Last month, the Prime Minister used a speech to the UN General Assembly to highlight what he described as Russian information warfare, saying there was evidence Moscow attempted to interfere in the 2019 general election.
He told the podcast: “I asked the question coming to Downing Street, well was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia? I’ve had the clear answer that yes, there was.
“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.
“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.”
In his recent Labour conference speech, Mr Burnham outlined plans to seek political consensus on the UK’s future relationship with Brussels, while leaving open the possibility that a future manifesto could include a pledge to rejoin the bloc.
