United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham has claimed that Russia interfered in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, while warning that Moscow is also seeking to influence political processes in France and Germany.
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During an interview for The Rest Is Politics podcast, which is expected to be made public on Monday, Burnham said that after taking office in Downing Street, he requested information about possible Russian interference in the 2016 vote.
According to him, the response was unequivocal: “I received a clear answer that, yes, there had been interference.”
The British prime minister also acknowledged that the country’s authorities had not been active enough in informing the public about efforts by foreign actors aimed at destabilizing political processes.
“I believe we have been too passive in this regard and have not informed people sufficiently about the extent to which foreign actors are trying to obstruct and undermine our political processes,” Burnham said.
However, he provided no further details about the nature or scale of the suspected Russian interference in the Brexit referendum.
In the same interview, Burnham expressed concern about France and Germany. He said he had discussed the issue of Russian interference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to Germany earlier this week.
According to him, false information and disinformation campaigns originating in Russia are circulating in German politics.
“There is undoubtedly inaccurate information and disinformation coming from Russia and making its way into German politics,” he said.
Burnham stressed that it was important for these issues to be made public so that voters in Germany and France could understand that some political developments may be driven by external adversaries, particularly Russia.
His statements mark a significant moment in the British debate over Moscow’s influence on domestic politics, although suspicions of Russian interference in elections and referendums have existed for years.
In 2020, the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee published a report on Russian interference in elections and referendums in the United Kingdom.
The report did not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Russia had attempted to influence the outcome of the Brexit referendum, but it criticized successive British governments for failing to fully assess and counter the threat.
At the time, the Russian foreign minister dismissed the report, describing it as an expression of “Russophobia.” The Kremlin has also repeatedly denied interfering in other countries’ elections.
However, also in 2020, the then Conservative British government stated that it was “almost certain” that Russian actors had attempted to interfere in the 2019 general election.
Meanwhile, according to BBC Verify, Russia-linked disinformation campaigns have been identified, including the use of artificial intelligence to create fake videos imitating journalists and media organizations reporting on the war in Ukraine.
A fake news website falsely claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had purchased, at a reduced price, a residence owned by Britain’s King Charles.
Earlier this year, the head of the UK Electoral Commission, Vijay Rangarajan, told lawmakers that AI-generated deepfake videos had been used extensively in elections around the world.
“There is no reason to assume that Britain would be an exception,” he warned.
Last month, during a speech at the United Nations, Burnham accused Russian agencies of using “every means available to spread lies and disinformation and exploit people’s fears.”
He also announced the creation of a new center in the United Kingdom aimed at curbing the spread of disinformation.
A Downing Street spokesperson said that the British government was focused on protecting citizens and institutions from foreign powers seeking to threaten security and undermine democratic values.
According to the spokesperson, the government is strengthening its capabilities through the National Security Act, institutional and critical infrastructure resilience, border controls, and the capacities of the police and intelligence agencies.
Burnham’s statements have brought the debate over Russia’s possible influence on democratic decision-making in Europe back to the forefront, as Western governments seek to confront threats from coordinated disinformation campaigns.
