U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he was told Russia interfered with the 2016 Brexit referendum after he became prime minister in July.
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U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he has a “clear” answer that Russia interfered with Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
In excerpts from “The Rest is Politics” podcast released Sunday, Burnham said that after he became prime minister in July, he asked his advisers whether Russia had interfered with the referendum.
Burnham said, “I’ve had the clear answer that yes, there was,” adding that placing the account “clearly on the record” matters because countries across Europe face a similar threat.
He said the information was intended to help voters in Germany and France understand that the politics they are seeing could be “instigated via our enemies, namely Russia.”
Russia has long said it does not meddle in other countries’ elections or referendums.
Burnham also said he spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about potential links between Russia and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) when the two met last week in Berlin.
Burnham said Merz told him that the AfD are “clearly linked to Russia,” and that “there is certainly misinformation, disinformation that is emanating from Russia into German politics.”
He made the comments as U.K. intelligence agencies warn about the increasing threat of Russian interference in Britain’s democratic institutions.
The intervention is believed to be the first time a British prime minister has publicly acknowledged Russian interference in the Brexit vote.
In 2020, Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee found the government failed to fully assess the impact Russian state-run media and “troll” accounts could have had on the EU referendum.
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