MI5 chief confirms Russian attempts to influence Brexit vote, cautions against overstating impact
Ken McCallum said Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 referendum but warned that the attempts do not show the result was affected.
MI5 chief Ken McCallum said on 13 October that Russia had attempted to interfere in the UK's 2016 Brexit referendum, but cautioned that the activity did not establish an effect on the result. His comments address a dispute over the significance of Russian activity during the vote.
What McCallum said about Russian activity
McCallum described online trolls and bots as a matter of public record. The Guardian reported that he also cited Russian-owned broadcasters RT and Sputnik, which carried biased anti-migration and anti-EU reports around the referendum, and fake social media accounts seeking to influence voters. He said neither tactic was particularly sophisticated or successful.
McCallum warned that prolonged attention could make the Russian efforts appear more consequential than they were. His comments followed Andy Burnham's remarks about interference, covered in an earlier NewsJaws report.
Sources and context
- MI5 chief warns against overstating Russian interference in Brexit voteBBC
- Russia did try to interfere in Brexit referendum, head of MI5 confirmsThe Guardian
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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