The Russian embassy has tonight threatened to retaliate against any measures taken by the UK government as the country’s officials adopted a combative stance over claims ‘Russian actors’ attempted to influence the 2019 general election.
In a statement tonight, the Russian embassy in London said it ‘will never interfere’ in internal affairs in the UK.
The embassy also threatened retaliation against any ‘unfriendly actions’ by the British government.
It comes after 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 a 451-page dossier at press conferences saying they proved the NHS was ‘for sale’ in a post-Brexit trade deal.
In a statement tonight, the embassy said: ‘Our position is clear: Russia has not and will never interfere in the internal affairs of the United Kingdom, especially in the context of democratic elections, and we always cooperate on matters of clear mutual interest openly and in good faith.
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
‘It is up to the architects of this so-called “investigation” to explain how a brief episode, barely covered by the British media, could have impacted the outcome of the election. We don’t understand this.’
The statement went on: ‘We have also taken note of the Foreign Secretary’s suggestion that the UK Government reserves the right to respond with appropriate measures in the future.
‘In this regard, we would like to state once again that any unfriendly actions against Russia will not be left without a proper and adequate response.’
Mr Corbyn brandished the documents during the 2019 General Election and claimed they showed the UK was preparing to sell of the NHS in a trade deal with the US. The government furiously denied the claims as ‘nonsense’ at the time.
They launched an investigation with the National Cyber Security Centre after complaining that the material had been circulated by Russians.
Today a written statement from Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, published on Parliament’s website said: ‘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.’
Although Mr 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.
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 spokesperson 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.
Today’s allegations are not the first time Russia has been accused of being involved in cyber attacks.
In the 2016 US presidential election, the Democratic National Committee was the subject of a cyber attack which saw hacked emails published linked to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
US intelligence officials would later determine that the hack was carried out by Russia as a means of interfering in the election with the aim of aiding the campaign of Donald Trump.
The Russian cyber espionage group Tsar Team (APT28), also known as Fancy Bears, is said to have targeted The World Anti-Doping Agency and accessed information concerning substances for which athletes have sought and received therapeutic use exemption.
Today the NCSC, along with its cybersecurity counterparts in the US and Canada, revealed hacking group ATP29 had targeted organisations working on Covid-19 vaccines.
It said the hacking group was ‘almost certainly’ linked to the Russian state.
The cyber security agencies added that they believe the aim of the attacks was to steal information about vaccine development, rather than trying to disrupt the UK and other countries’ own efforts to make a vaccine
Russia and the UK’s tempestuous relationship: How a once successful friendship between the two-time world war allies has soured
Despite a strained and suspicious relationship of late, the UK and Russia have often appeared on the same side when it comes to war.
They allied to fight Napoleon in the early 1800s and wrestle back control of Europe from the French empire, which at one point stretched across most of the continent.
But as Russia’s influence grew in the 1800s, relationships began to sour with the British Empire, leading to the bloody Crimean War in the late 19th century.
Britain and Russia allied to fight Napoleon in the early 1800s and wrestle back control of Europe from the French empire, which at one point stretched across most of the continent
They settled their differences in the early 1900’s to twice repel Germany in the First and Second World War.
But as the USSR grew into a competing global superpower of Britain’s long-standing ally, the US, after the Second World War, tensions mounted.
During the Cold War the suspicion was fuelled by a raft of espionage and counter-espionage missions.
In recent years however the relationship has become increasingly strained, with the first major flash-point in 2006 with the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London.
Former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 in 2006
The former KGB agent fled to the UK after making critical statements about Russia – and continued to do so while based in England.
He was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210, which was believed to have been sprayed into a cup of tea. Litvinenko died in hospital three weeks later.
An investigation was conducted and it was found the polonium could be traced to a Russian nuclear power plant, while an inquiry in 2016 found the actions were likely to have been approved by top Russian officials, including Vladamir Putin
Relations soured again when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 – despite widespread condemnation from the West.
And they reached an all-time low in 2018 with the poisoning of retired spy Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer who had acted as a double agent for the UK’s intelligence services.
His daughter he and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury with deadly nerve agent Novichok, believed to have been administered by two Russian agents – both who deny any involvement. Russia also denied any involvement.
In a now-famous moment, then-Prime Minister Theresa May confronted Putin over the poisoning, which she described as a ‘truly despicable act’ during a frosty meeting between the two leaders at a G-20 summit in 2018
Though both Skripals survived the assassination attempt, a woman named Dawn Sturgess died after inadvertently spraying the nerve agent on herself after being given a fake perfume bottle – believed to have been carelessly discarded by the Skripal attackers.
Then-Prime Minister Theresa May confronted Putin over the poisoning, which she described as a ‘truly despicable act’ during a frosty meeting between the two leaders at a G-20 summit.
Following the Salisbury poisoning, there were calls by MPs for England to boycott the World Cup in Russia in 2018, while Three Lions fans were warned about potential backlash by Russian ‘ultras’.