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The report, drafted by the UK House of Commons Committee on Intelligence and Security, was released nine months after its publication was blocked by Prime Minister Boris Johnson before last year’s general election.
The 55-page document, which was written over 18 months, examines the Kremlin’s influence on British politics and public life. The committee was witnessed by explorers and independent experts. The report is here.
The Conservative Party is believed to have received significant financial support from several Russian citizens, so the report was delayed as long as possible by conservatives.
Reuters / Scanpix photo / Boris Johnson
About the referendum in Scotland
Downing Street has repeatedly tried to convince the public and the media that the content of the report is nothing special, but for some reason the Prime Minister did not want to obey the law and did not allow it to be published in October last year.
The general elections were approaching, so the conservatives did not want the party to be harmed. Conservatives won the elections by a wide margin in December and have an absolute majority in the House of Commons.
True, contrary to expectations, the report says nothing specific about Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 Brexit vote. The document only states that the Kremlin attempted to interfere in the campaign for the 2014 referendum on the independence of Scotland.
The 50-page report says there is no direct evidence that Russia has tried to influence the 2016 Brexit referendum.
At least The Daily Telegraph, which, incidentally, is close to Johnson, does not write anything about the Brexit campaign, and the Kremlin’s actions in 2014 were “the first attempt to interfere in a democratic vote in the West after the collapse of the USSR “
Reuters / Scanpix photo / Referendum on Scottish independence
The 50-page report says there is no direct evidence that Russia has tried to influence the 2016 Brexit referendum.
If more is said about the referendum in Scotland, there may be new calls at Westminster to prevent the Scots from holding another vote on independence; in this region, they are more supporters of UK secession than opponents.
Then in 2014, 55 percent. The Scottish population, which includes hundreds of thousands of English people, spoke out against independence, with 45 percent voting in favor of secession. voters.
About the Brexit referendum
However, it is strange to some observers that the committee that drafted the report on Russia’s influence on the Brexit referendum campaign did not find it, although one of the biggest Brexit initiators, businessman Arron Banks, actively interacted with envoys. of the Kremlin.
As The Sunday Times reported in 2018, Banks had met three times with the Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Alexander Jakovenka, from whom he heard a proposal to make a profitable investment in gold mines in Siberia.
Scanpix / AP Photo / Arron Banks
A. Banks, who married Russian Ekaterina Paderin, also interacted with Alexander Udod, an explorer now sent from the Russian embassy.
However, according to The Daily Telegraph, Banks, who funded the campaign extensively Leave.EUOfficials have previously said his name will not be mentioned in the report in a critical context.
On the other hand, the report notes that the British government and the country’s intelligence services have not adequately assessed whether Russia has intervened in the 2016 Brexit referendum, unlike, for example, the United States.
In the United States, intelligence agencies gave a unanimous assessment two months after the 2016 presidential election that Russia was interfering in the vote, likely in favor of Donald Trump.
In other words, the UK has no direct evidence of Russia’s interference in the Brexit referendum, but only because the government did not contact the intelligence services after the vote and did not request a professional evaluation.
Reuters / Scanpix Photo / General welcomes withdrawal from the European Union
“Russia’s interference in the referendum should be appreciated. Such an evaluation must now be carried out and the results must be communicated to the public,” said Kevan Jones, a member of the committee, although the government immediately rejected the call. in the official response to the report.
The committee also noted that during the pre-referendum campaign, a large number of pro-Brexit and anti-EU messages were broadcast on RT television and the Sputnik portal, and that Russian trolls and bots were on social media.
“Britain is one of the most important Russian intelligence targets in the West, especially given Britain’s strong stance on the recent Russian aggression and its response to the attack in Salisbury, which Britain has led to the international community,” he said. .
Furthermore, the document warns politicians, lawyers and financial professionals not to deal with Russian citizens who are associated with the Vladimir Putin regime and who operate in the United Kingdom.
The document asks for a trace of money to follow. London has become a haven for dark Russian money, and many Britons have contributed to it. Some people have amassed great wealth, while others are useful idiots to the Kremlin.
In addition, the report criticizes the calls fixerswho, to make money, have allowed Russian money of unknown origin to flow freely to the United Kingdom, especially London, for the past decade.
“It just came to our attention then. London has become a haven for dark Russian money, and many Britons have contributed to it. Some people have amassed great wealth, while others are useful idiots to the Kremlin.
There are many people with contacts who don’t even wonder who they work for, “the source told The Daily Telegraph about the content of the report, confirming that the specific names in the document are unfortunately not covered by national security interests.
Finally, it is pointed out that the Official State Secrets Act must be amended, since espionage in the United Kingdom is currently There is not illegal.
Finally made public
The report is released a few days after the House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee rejected John Grahning’s nomination for Chris Grayling as president. He became a veteran Tori Julian Lewis.
The angry government attacked Lewis, but did not dare remove him from the committee, and the next day the committee announced that it would publish a report on Russia’s influence.
AFP / Scanpix photo / Dominic Raabas
In addition, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab last Thursday accused Russia of embezzlement and after spreading confidential information on social media to influence the results of the 2019 election.
Bilateral ties have been strained since London accused Russia of trying to assassinate former double agent Sergei Skripal in southwest England in Salisbury in 2018.
Shortly after the document was released on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry was not surprised to say it was a manifestation of Russophobia.
“It just came to our attention then. Russophobia treated with melagiens,” said Maria Zakharova, representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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