Foreign
BRITISH lawmakers called for an investigation of possible Russian attempts to influence the 2016 Brexit referendum on Tuesday, accusing the government of being slow to recognise the threat from Moscow.
The cross-party parliamentary intelligence and security committee published a long-awaited “Russia” report that was delayed for nine months after Prime Minister Boris Johnson had blocked its release before a general election in December.
The nine-member committee suggested the government “took its eye off the ball” on potential threats from Russia and was “still playing catch-up.”
The report noted “widespread allegations that Russia sought to influence voters in the 2016 referendum,” in which a slim majority of voted for Britain to leave the EU.
It cited studies on pro-Brexit or anti-EU stories by Russian media such as RT and Sputnik, and the use of social media bots and trolls to promote similar messages.
“The actual impact of such attempts on the [referendum] result itself would be difficult – if not impossible – to prove,” the report said.
“However, what is clear is that the government was slow to recognise the existence of the threat … when it should have been seen as early as 2014,” it said.
It cited a “hack and leak’’ operation against the U.S. Democratic National Committee that year.
The lawmakers were given no post-referendum assessment, “in stark contrast to the U.S. response to reports of interference in the 2016 presidential election.’’
“In our view there must be an analogous assessment of Russian interference in the EU referendum,” they said. (dpa/NAN)
– Jul. 21, 2020 @ 12:35 GMT |
Tags: Lawmakers urge probe of possible Russian influence on Brexit vote
