UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he received information confirming that Russia interfered in the 2016 referendum in which British voters decided that the country should leave the European Union (EU).
Burnham made the remarks in an interview with The Rest Is Politics, scheduled for release on Monday, October 12, 2026.
He explained that after taking office, he asked the relevant authorities to clarify whether Russia had interfered in the referendum.
“I was given a very clear answer that it had,” Burnham said.
He added that the UK had been slow to respond to the issue and had not adequately informed the public about the extent of foreign attempts to undermine the country’s political system.
“I think we have been slow to act on this issue, and we have not sufficiently explained to the public how far foreign activities aimed at undermining our political system have gone,” he said.
However, Burnham did not specify how Russia allegedly interfered in the referendum or whether such activities affected the final result.
He also claimed that similar activities were continuing in Germany and France, where Russia has been accused of spreading disinformation intended to mislead the public.
“There is no doubt that false and misleading information originating from Russia is being spread within German politics,” he said.
Britain Unbound, a group that supports Brexit, rejected Burnham’s claims, arguing that they were intended to undermine the decision made by British voters in 2016.
“There is no compelling reason to believe that Russian interference influenced the outcome of the 2016 referendum,” the group said.
During the referendum, 51.9% of voters supported leaving the EU, while 48.1% voted to remain. The United Kingdom formally withdrew from the bloc on January 31, 2020.
In 2020, the UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee published a report criticising successive governments for failing to take adequate measures to counter Russian interference in British politics.
However, the report did not establish whether Russia had attempted to influence the outcome of the Brexit referendum.
Russia has continued to deny allegations of interference in other countries’ elections, maintaining that it does not interfere in their electoral processes.
KIGALI TIMES