Prime Minister Andy Burnham says Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum, but Downing Street insists the result was legitimate and that the interference did not determine the outcome.
Burnham said he asked advisers about Russian involvement when he entered Downing Street in July and received what he described as a clear confirmation that interference had occurred. He did not identify the officials who gave him that assessment, explain the evidence behind it or say whether the activity changed voters’ decisions.
The prime minister made the comments in an interview for The Rest is Politics podcast. He said hostile states were trying to disrupt political processes from abroad and argued that Britain had not done enough to explain the threat. He also referred to Russian misinformation and disinformation in German politics and said he had discussed concerns about Russia-linked support for the far-right Alternative for Germany with Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to Berlin.
Downing Street later said it was “inconceivable” that Russia had not tried to exploit the referendum, while maintaining that the effort had not succeeded in influencing the result. Foreign Minister Stephen Doughty declined to give specific details about the 2016 activity but said Russia had attempted to interfere in a series of democratic events.
The remarks prompted an angry response from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a leading Brexit campaigner, who accused Burnham of lying and rejected the existence of Russian interference. Conservative shadow minister Katie Lam said the comments risked casting doubt on a professionally run and independently monitored vote, while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey backed Burnham’s decision to speak publicly.
A 2020 parliamentary investigation found that the government had not fully assessed the possible effect of Russian state-backed media and social-media accounts on the referendum. The government said at the time that it had seen no evidence of successful interference, while the committee said an assessment of possible Russian activity should have been produced. A later independent review said foreign efforts to sow distrust and deepen social divisions were difficult to measure, while recommending stronger safeguards against hostile online campaigns and foreign influence in British politics.