A British parliamentary committee urged the British government to investigate possible Russian interference in British politics, especially during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016, accusing it of having seriously underestimated the risks.
Much awaited for months in the United Kingdom, the report of the Committee on Intelligence and Security (ISC) failed to deliver a precise verdict, but strangled the government's lack of curiosity on the issue.
In its 55-page report, the commission concludes that Russian influence over UK politics has become "the new normal", a situation "seriously underestimated" by the government.
No evidence of Russian interference
ISC MPs have failed to identify evidence of Russian interference, either in the Brexit referendum campaign or the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, where 55% of voters voted to stay in the UK.
“There should have been an assessment of Russian interference in the referendum. There must be one and the results of this assessment must be made known to the public, ”Labor MP Kevan Jones said in presenting the report.
He said the United Kingdom did not assess Russian interference in the referendum on leaving the European Union, stressing the "stark contrast" with the American response to those on the 2016 presidential election.
A stormy backdrop between London and Moscow
Shortly before the presentation of the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured that “Russia has never intervened in the electoral process of any country in the world, not in the United States, not in Great Britain, nor in any other ”.
The commission emphasizes that successive governments have welcomed the Russian oligarchs and their money “with open arms”, thus enabling them to gain a foothold in the United Kingdom. The report's publication comes amid stormy weather between London and Moscow. Last Thursday, the United Kingdom thus implicated "Russian actors" in interference during the campaign for the legislative elections last December. In question, the dissemination on the internet of documents relating to the negotiations between London and Washington on a future post-Brexit trade agreement.
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