British intelligence agencies warned parties about foreign interference and "honey traps"
Kyiv • UNN
Britain's top intelligence agencies have briefed political parties, warning of the dangers of foreign interference, from financial donations to coercion. This move comes amid concerns about the vulnerability of British democracy.
Britain's top intelligence agencies have warned political parties about the dangers of foreign interference, ranging from financial donations to "honey traps," Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to a statement from the country's cabinet office published on Monday, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum and National Cyber Security Centre Chief Executive Richard Horne held a first-of-its-kind security briefing last week for representatives of all UK political parties.
Leaders of political parties in Britain were told "how foreign actors can use funding and investment as tools to gain influence, while concealing their true motives, and also use other tactics, including coercion and sexual harassment," the publication writes.
The move comes amid concerns about the vulnerability of British democracy to foreign donations and bribes. The government is already examining the role of cryptocurrencies in funding political activity as part of a review led by former senior civil servant Philip Rycroft, which is scheduled to conclude with a report by March and be used as the basis for legislation later in the year.
The issue surfaced late last year when Nathan Gill, former leader of Nigel Farage's Welsh party Reform UK, was convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for statements supporting Russia while serving in the European Parliament, the publication writes.
The Financial Times reported that the party also came under scrutiny over a £200,000 ($272,000) donation received from a design company linked to an Iranian billionaire. Liam Byrne, a Labour MP and chair of the Business and Trade Committee, reportedly asked Companies House to investigate the ownership data of this firm.
However, the Cabinet Office stressed that its goal is to warn all parties, "emphasizing an impartial commitment to recognizing and countering attempts to manipulate the political process and our democratic values."
Farage, for his part, said last week that this firm was not among his contacts.
"Most of the donors I know, certainly all the big donors I know," he said at a press conference. "I didn't know this person personally, but I looked into the story. Checked it with our compliance department. Everything is legal. Everything is fair."
According to the statement, the intelligence agencies also held a separate briefing for rectors of more than 70 British universities to advise them on how foreign actors seek to shape and censor research or teaching, and to provide recommendations on how academics can counter and report this.
At the event, McCallum "detailed the sophisticated methods used by hostile actors to shape the content of research and teaching in higher education, including the use of professional networking sites and financial inducements to build relationships with faculty and students," the statement said.
The event was also attended by Security Minister Dan Jarvis and Minister for Vocational Education Jacqueline Smith, and the government has established a mechanism for reporting academic interference, allowing universities to directly report interference to the government.
"We have taken tough measures to make the UK a more difficult target for foreign interference," Jarvis said in his statement. "We must be sober and understand that our world-class universities and democratic processes are being targeted by states that want to undermine our way of life."