The COVID Diaries – 114 21st July
Boris Johnson has been accused of giving the Kremlin the green light to meddle in UK politics after throwing out the recommendations of a long-suppressed report which found it is “the new normal”.
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has judged it “credible” that Russia tried to interfere in the Scottish independence referendum as part of an effort to influence political life in the UK.
Now Members of Parliament have told the Prime Minister to order an assessment of “potential” Russian meddling in the BREXIT referendum. The government “did not want to know” if there been interference in the 2016 vote – and had “actively avoided looking for evidence”, they said. However, the government quickly rejected the call for a further investigation.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has called on the Prime Minister to reveal the Russian donors to the Tory party believed to be named in the classified section of the report. “I believe the public has a right to know whether Russian money is buying influence in the Conservative Party,” Davey says.