UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit vote, warning voters in France and Germany about Moscow-backed attempts to influence their politics. UNN reports this, citing Reuters.
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Burnham, who took office as the UK's leader in July and said last month that the UK could consider rejoining the European Union in the future, is the first UK prime minister to openly state that there is evidence of Russian interference in the referendum ten years ago.
"When I came to Downing Street, I asked whether there had been Russian interference in the 2016 referendum. And I received a clear answer that yes, there had been," Burnham said in an interview with The Rest Is Politics podcast published on Sunday, October 11.
Burnham did not explain how he believed Russia had interfered in the referendum, nor did he provide details about what evidence the statement was based on.
The Russian Embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia has previously denied interfering in the Brexit vote, describing Britain as gripped by anti-Russian hysteria.
Burnham's comments differ from those of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who campaigned for leaving the EU and said in 2020 that there was no evidence of Russian interference in the referendum, the publication notes.
Britons voted to leave the EU in 2016 by a margin of 52% to 48%, which, the publication writes, led to the biggest political crisis since the Second World War.
Burnham said that voters in European democracies should be better informed about attempts to undermine their political situation.
"What I mean is that it is important now to speak clearly about these things and, I believe, help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this policy is being initiated by our enemies, namely Russia," he said.
The UK government was unable to establish whether Russia interfered in the 2016 referendum on EU membership, according to a 2020 report by the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee. The report also stated that Russia had attempted to influence the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, in which voters rejected independence.
Last month, Burnham said he could campaign for Britain to rejoin the EU at the next election, reviving the country's contentious debate over its relationship with the continent.
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