Russia today laughed off bombshell accusations that leaked documents on US-UK trade talks were ‘amplified’ online during the election to help Jeremy Corbyn win.
Moscow dismissed the allegations as ‘foggy and contradictory’ after the government announced that sensitive material was ‘almost certainly’ spread by ‘Russian actors’ in the run-up to the December poll.
The then-Labour leader brandished the 451-page dossier at press conferences saying they proved the NHS was ‘for sale’ in a post-Brexit trade deal.
But the government furiously denied the claims as ‘nonsense’ and launched an investigation with the National Cyber Security Centre after complaining that the material had been circulated by Russians.
Although Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab very carefully stopped short of pinning the blame on the Russian state and Vladimir Putin directly, he insisted ‘Russian actors’ were involved in ensuring the documents came to light.
The papers were brandished by the then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn during the campaign last year as evidence that the NHS was at risk from a Transatlantic deal.
Mr Corbyn merely repeated ‘goodbye’ as he was quizzed by reporters on the allegations about Russian interference at his London home today
Tories said the episode was ‘part and parcel of the Russia playbook’, and the countries have been at loggerheads over a range of issues – including the attempted assassination of former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.
Mr Corbyn merely repeated ‘goodbye’ as he desperately fumbled for his keys while being quizzed by reporters on the claims at his London home this afternoon.
Labour said it condemned ‘any attempt by Russia, or any foreign power, to interfere in our country’s democratic processes’. ‘Labour stands ready to work cross-party to protect our nation’s security,’ a spokeswoman said.
Russian foreign minister spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: ‘The statement is so foggy and contradictory that it’s practically impossible to understand it,’
Tory MP Bob Seely said: ‘It’s clear that political manipulation is still part and parcel of the Russia playbook to attack Western values and institutions.’
The results were announced today as Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee was finally appointed, seven months after it last met.
The PM’s spokesman dismissed ‘nonsense’ claims the news was being announced now to deflect from the impending publication of a long-delayed report on Russian interference, which some claim will be damaging to Boris Johnson.
In a statement to MPs today, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said during the campaign – which resulted in a huge Tory majority – a ‘cross-Government election security cell was stood up to coordinate responses to threats and hazards relating to the election’.
‘On the basis of extensive analysis, the Government has concluded that it is almost certain that Russian actors sought to interfere in the 2019 General Election through the online amplification of illicitly acquired and leaked Government documents,’ he said.
‘Sensitive Government documents relating to the UK-US Free Trade Agreement were illicitly acquired before the 2019 General Election and disseminated online via the social media platform Reddit. When these gained no traction, further attempts were made to promote the illicitly acquired material online in the run up to the General Election.
‘Whilst there is no evidence of a broad spectrum Russian campaign against the General Election, any attempt to interfere in our democratic processes is completely unacceptable. It is, and will always be, an absolute priority to protect our democracy and elections.
Boris Johnson (pictured in the Commons yesterday) dismissed Labour’s claims about the NHS being ‘for sale’ as ‘nonsense’
‘There is an ongoing criminal investigation and it would be inappropriate for us to say anything further at this point.
‘The Government reserves the right to respond with appropriate measures in the future.’
A Labour spokewoman said: ‘We condemn any attempt by Russia, or any foreign power, to interfere in our country’s democratic processes.
Labour stands ready to work cross-party to protect our nation’s security.
‘That includes in our response to the publication of the long-awaited report by the Intelligence Security Committee on the Russian threat to the UK.’
The leaked document played a huge part in Labour’s election campaign as they argued they proved the government could not be trusted to protest the NHS in a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.
Mr Corbyn refused to reveal the source of the material – although there is no suggestion it was provided to Labour directly by Russian actors.
Online forum Reddit later suspended a slew of accounts saying unredacted versions were uploaded as ‘part of a campaign that has been reported as originating from Russia’.
Speaking at the time, Mr Johnson said ‘we do need to get to the bottom’ of the leak.
But he insisted he had not seen evidence of ‘any successful interference by Russia in any democratic event in this country’.
Mr Raab said the UK would ‘continue to call out and respond to malign activity, including any attempts to interfere in our democratic processes, alongside our international partners’.
‘We fully support the recent action taken by our German partners who exposed Russian responsibility for the hack of their Parliament in 2015 as well as their intention to act against those responsible under the cyber sanctions regime,’ he added.