Andy Burnham says UK was told Russia interfered in 2016 Brexit referendum

Putin and BurnhamAndy Burnham has become the first UK prime minister to confirm there was Russian interference in the Brexit vote.Speaking on the Rest is Politics podcast, Burnham said: “I asked the question coming to Downing Street, was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia?“And I’ve had the clear answer that yes, there was.“I mean, these things are important now to put clearly on the record, and I believe, help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia.”Burnham is the first person in No.10 to confirm the long-suspected theory.Parliament’s intelligence and security committee concluded in 2020 that the government had failed to fully assess the impact Russia had on the seismic EU referendum.Burnham was speaking after he met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier this week, where the two leaders discussed the threat from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.The PM said Merz suggested “the AfD is clearly linked to Russia”.He warned that countries have not been transparent enough about the influence from other countries.“I think we’ve been too much on the back foot on that, actually,” he said. “And we haven’t informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas.”Alluding to the nationwide protests which have erupted in France in recent weeks, and the rise of the far-right National Rally party, Burnham said: “Given what’s happening in Germany and France, I think it’s really important for the UK to step to the fore and say, well, look, we went through this a decade ago when we saw this rupture in our politics and we’ve now got a decade of experience.“We have had a decade of drift and division that has caused more harm than good. In my view, we are a more fractious country than we were. We have a weaker sense of direction. And these are all the things I’m trying to fix as Prime Minister.”Burnham said he wants to “draw a line on that decade”.“There is certainly misinformation, disinformation that is emanating from Russia into German politics,” he said, comparing it to Brexit.“I don’t think we knew back then the extent to which there was state-sponsored interference in the British democratic process.”Burnham also said there was evidence Moscow tried to interfere with the 2019 general election during his speech to the UN General Assembly last month.The Conservatives won that election with a landslide after Boris Johnson campaigned on the promise to “get Brexit done”.Burnham, on the other hand, opened the door to rejoining the EU at the Labour Party conference last month.He said a Brexit referendum could be “possible” in the next Labour election manifesto.His comments come after Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said Russia is trying to “boil Europe” like a frog with a growing number of “terror or sabotage” attacks.He told Sky: “They are turning on the heat, trying to boil Europe as a frog over the years.“And then testing and dividing our unity as a society, and as organisations like Nato or EU.”The full episode from the Rest is Politics is due to be released on Monday.Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.Related...Andy Burnham Insists He Did Not 'Downplay Seriousness' Of Man City RowBoris Johnson Slams Reform UK For 'Not Doing A Bean' To Get Brexit Over The LineExclusive: Reform Candidate Admitted Brexit 'Exacerbated' UK Worker Shortage

Burnham was told in No 10 that Russia did interfere with the vote (Picture: Reuters) Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the UK is ‘clear’ that there was Russian interference in the Brexit referendum. He said that when he entered No 10 in the summer, he had asked whether Moscow interfered in the 2016 vote on whether to leave the EU and was given ‘the clear answer that yes, there was interference’. The Prime Minister said he believes it is important to put this ‘clearly on the record’ to help voters in Germany and France understand that some politics are ‘instigated by enemies’ amid the rise of far-right parties. Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee found in 2020 that the Government failed to fully assess the impact Russian state-run media and ‘troll’ accounts could have had on the EU referendum. Some have been urging Burnham to rejoin the EU (Picture: SOPA) Mr Burnham, speaking to the Rest Is Politics podcast to be released on Monday, said he spoke to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about the threat from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party when they met in Berlin this week. Make sense of the mad world of British politics Want to understand how what goes on in Westminster actually affects your life? Get analysis of what the biggest stories mean straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here. As Mr Merz struggles with the challenge of recent regional election successes for the AfD, Mr Burnham said: ‘One thing I did say to Chancellor Merz… is we need to support you in taking on the threat that you face and particularly the type of politics that you’re facing. ‘You know, he was saying to me that the AfD are clearly linked to Russia, funded, I believe. There is certainly misinformation, disinformation that is emanating from Russia into German politics.’ Mr Burnham aimed Russian information warfare during a speech to the UN General Assembly last month, saying at the time there was evidence Moscow tried to interfere with the 2019 general election. He told the podcast: ‘I asked the question coming to Downing Street, well, was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia? I’ve had the clear answer that yes, there was. ‘These things are important now to put clearly on the record, and I believe it helps voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia. ‘I think we’ve been too much on the back foot on that actually and we haven’t informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas.’ Mr Burnham set out plans in his recent Labour conference speech to find political consensus on the UK’s future relationship with Brussels, and has left open the possibility of a future manifesto pledge to rejoin the bloc. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the UK is "clear" there was Russian interference in the Brexit referendum.

The Prime Minister has revealed that it is 'clear' that the Kremlin interfered in the vote to leave the European Union

He said people have not been informed enough of ‘the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas’.

Andy Burnham said he had asked on arriving in Downing Street whether Moscow had meddled in the 2016 contest, and was given the answer 'yes'.

Andy Burnham said he had asked on arriving in Downing Street whether Moscow had meddled in the 2016 contest, and was given the answer 'yes'.