Burnham acusa directamente a Rusia de interferir en la campaña del referéndum del Brexit

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has stated that Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum through disinformation and fake news on social media. According to DW English and DW News, Burnham is the first British leader to openly complain of Russian tampering regarding the vote, which saw the UK decide to leave the EU by a 52% to 48% majority.

Speaking on The Rest Is Politics podcast, Burnham said he received a clear answer confirming the link to Russian interference upon his arrival at Downing Street in July, though he did not provide specific evidence for the claim.

Burnham warned voters in France and Germany about the potential for Russian influence in their own politics. During talks in Berlin this week, he noted that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told him the AfD is linked to and believed to be funded by Russia. Burnham emphasized that voters need better information regarding efforts by rogue states to disrupt democracies.

The Prime Minister's comments contrast with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who stated in 2020 that there was no evidence of interference. Free Malaysia Today notes that the Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Russia has previously denied meddling in the vote. Burnham, who took office from Keir Starmer, has suggested that leaving the European Union did more harm than good and indicated that Britain could consider rejoining the bloc in the future.

Brief written by urgent.news from El Pais, DW English (Top Stories), DW News, Free Malaysia Today, France 24 — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.