Burnham says Russia interfered in 2016 Brexit referendum
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has become the first British premier to openly say Russia interfered in the 2016 vote on leaving the EU. He gave no evidence, but urged voters in Germany and France to be alert to Russian influence.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in a podcast interview released on Sunday that Russia interfered in the 2016 referendum in which Britons voted on membership of the European Union (EU). He is the first British prime minister to openly cite evidence of such interference. Burnham took office in July and said last month that Britain could consider rejoining the EU in future.
Burnham told The Rest is Politics podcast that on arriving at Downing Street he asked whether Russia had interfered in the referendum and was given a clear answer that it had. He did not explain how the interference happened or what evidence his statement rested on. The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A message to European voters
Burnham said voters in European democracies need to be better informed about attempts to disrupt their politics. He said it was important to put these matters clearly on the record, which he believes will help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated by Britain's enemies, namely Russia.
Earlier assessments
The remarks differ from those of former prime minister Boris Johnson, who campaigned to leave the EU and said in 2020 that there was no evidence of Russian interference in the referendum. A 2020 report by parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee concluded that the British government had failed to establish whether Russia meddled in the Brexit vote. The same report found that Russia had sought to influence Scotland's 2014 independence referendum, in which voters rejected independence.
Russia has previously denied meddling in the Brexit vote, portraying Britain as gripped by anti-Russian hysteria.
Brexit background
In 2016, Britons voted 52% to 48% to leave the EU, plunging the country into its biggest political crisis since World War Two. Last month Burnham said he could campaign to take Britain back into the EU at the next general election, reopening the divisive debate over the country's relationship with the continent.
