PM Burnham says Russia interfered in 2016 Brexit vote, gives no details

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum. He has offered no specifics.

In excerpts from The Rest Is Politics podcast released Sunday, Oct. 11, Burnham said he asked about Russian interference when he arrived in Downing Street in July. "I've had the clear answer that yes, there was," he said.

The full episode is scheduled for release Monday, Oct. 12.

This appears to be the first time a sitting British prime minister has said publicly that Russia sought to sway the Brexit vote.

What Burnham did and did not say

Burnham did not say who gave him the answer. He did not describe what the interference consisted of, what evidence supports it, or whether it affected the outcome of the vote.

He framed the disclosure as a matter of public information. "I think we've been too much on the back foot on that actually," he said, "and we haven't informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas."

He also said it was important "to put clearly on the record" what happened so that voters in Germany and France understand that "some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia."

The Berlin conversation

Burnham said he raised the issue with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to Berlin earlier this week. He described Merz as saying "the AfD are clearly linked to Russia, funded I believe." Burnham added that there is "certainly misinformation, disinformation that is emanating from Russia into German politics."

That is Burnham's account of a private conversation. The funding claim is his characterization of what Merz told him, prefaced with "I believe." No evidence of AfD funding was presented in the excerpts.

The paper trail

Burnham's statement departs from past government lines, but the official record is not empty.

In 2020, Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee published a report on Russian activity in UK elections and referendums. It did not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Russia tried to influence the EU referendum result. It did fault successive governments for failing to fully assess or counter the threat.

The committee found ministers had not sought a full assessment of Moscow's activity despite evidence of efforts through Russian state-backed media and social media accounts. It also noted that, unlike the U.S. after the 2016 presidential election, the UK had produced no post-referendum assessment.

The committee said it mattered whether a hostile state tried to influence a democratic process, whether or not the effort worked.

Russia's foreign minister dismissed that report as "Russophobia" and a Kremlin spokesman said Russia does not meddle in other countries' elections. Russia has long maintained that position.

Last month, in his address to the UN General Assembly, Burnham said there was evidence Moscow tried to interfere in the 2019 general election.

The pushback

Britain Unbound, a pro-Brexit campaign group, called Burnham's comments "another crude attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the decision that the British people made in 2016."

The group said foreign interference in UK elections is "obviously unacceptable." But it argued: "There is no good reason to believe that Russian intervention influenced the outcome of the referendum in 2016. It is also insulting to suggest that voters were so easily duped."

The group's objection rests on the gap Burnham left. He said interference occurred. He did not say it mattered to the result, and nothing in the excerpts claims it did.

The political backdrop

The remarks arrive weeks after Burnham argued the UK should reconsider its future relationship with the EU, including rejoining the bloc. He said Brexit failed to deliver "taking back control" and left Britain weaker economically and on immigration. Britain Unbound's criticism ties the interference claim to that debate. Burnham has not framed it that way.

UK intelligence agencies have been warning of a growing Russian threat to British democratic institutions. BBC Verify has tracked Russian-linked disinformation campaigns, including AI-generated fake videos impersonating journalists and news organisations reporting on Ukraine.

What comes next

The prime minister can see the assessment he was given. The public cannot. Burnham has not said whether the government will publish it, or whether the committee's 2020 call for a formal post-referendum review will be acted on. The full interview on Monday, Oct. 12, may show whether he says more about the source or substance of the answer he received.