MI5 chief warns against overstating Russian interference in Brexit vote

MI5 chief warns against overstating Russian interference in Brexit vote

MI5 chief Sir Ken McCallum has said there was Russian interference in the Brexit referendum, but cautioned against exaggerating its effect on the outcome.

His remarks came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham drew criticism from some Brexit campaigners by saying it was "clear" that Moscow had interfered in the 2016 vote.

Sir Ken said it was "a matter of public record" that the referendum had been interfered with by online trolls and bots.

But he said Russian trolls would be "delighted" to be back on the front page, "despite the comparative unimpressiveness" of their efforts.

He said: "There is a really important difference between interference attempted and outcome swayed.

"I am a little bit anxious that we don't play into our adversaries' hands by making these trolls look 10ft tall."

Conservative deputy leader Alex Burghart described Sir Ken's remarks as "an extraordinary slap down to the prime minister".

During the interview, Sir Ken did not spell out the scale or nature of Russian activity, and when questioned on the issue in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon he seemed less certain.

The PM rejected claims from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch that he was suggesting the referendum result was illegitimate because of Russian interference.

He said it was a "matter of record" that Russia tried to interfere in the 2019 general election, adding: "We think it is inconceivable that this was the first time".

A No 10 spokesperson also said that while the prime minister believed it was highly likely Russia had tried to influence the referendum result, he did not think those efforts had succeeded.

The Conservatives accused Burnham of making an "embarrassing retreat" after "being caught out trying question the legitimacy of the referendum result".

Speaking after his annual speech at MI5's London headquarters earlier, Sir Ken said: "It is openly on the record that Russia Today and Sputnik and other Russian media organisations came in pretty strongly around the referendum.

"And it is also a matter of open source record that there was a certain amount of interference attempted through trolls and bots and so forth."

He added that he "strongly" agreed with the PM that there had been a hack and leak during the 2019 general election campaign.

However, he also voiced concern about the effect of the debate over Russian interference.

"It is kind of up to us how far we allow our various adversaries to divide us," Sir Ken said.

"And I'm a little bit worried that if we all stay in this debate for another few days, that Russian trolls who didn't appear to do all that much at various points over the years, they'll be delighted because they are front page news again despite the comparative unimpressiveness of what they do at all points along the journey."

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused Burnham of lying, saying there had been "no Russian interference" in the referendum.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said that in 2016, when he became foreign secretary, the security services told him "there was no evidence of any successful interference in the 2016 referendum, by Russia or any other power".

He added: "Either the security services have changed their view - which would be very odd - or Burnham is lying about what he has been told."

In 2020, a parliamentary report did not reach a definite conclusion on whether Russia had tried to interfere in UK elections and referendums, but it criticised the government for failing to fully assess and counter the threat from Russian "troll" accounts on social media.