British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit vote, becoming the first UK leader to make the claim openly and warning voters in France and Germany about Moscow-backed efforts to influence politics.
Speaking in an interview released on Sunday, Mr Burnham said he had sought an answer after entering Downing Street in July. “I asked the question coming to Downing Street, was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia? And I’ve had the clear answer that yes, there was,” he said.
He did not explain how Russia had allegedly interfered or set out the evidence behind his statement. The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia has previously denied meddling in the Brexit referendum, describing Britain as gripped by anti-Russian hysteria.
Mr Burnham’s remarks differ from those of Boris Johnson, who campaigned for Brexit and said in 2020 that there was no evidence of Russian interference in the referendum.
Britons voted by 52% to 48% to leave the European Union in 2016, triggering the country’s biggest political crisis since the Second World War.
The Prime Minister said voters in European democracies needed clearer information about attempts to disrupt their political systems. “I mean, 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,” he said.
A report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee in 2020 said the UK Government had failed to establish whether Russia meddled in the Brexit referendum. It also found that Russia had sought to influence Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum, which ended with voters rejecting independence.
Mr Burnham said last month that Britain could consider rejoining the European Union in the future and that he could campaign to take the country back into the bloc at the next general election, reopening the divisive debate over its relationship with Europe.
