UK PM Burnham warns French voters of Russian political influence on back of Brexit vote

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned voters in France and Germany of potential Russian influence in upcoming elections, citing interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum. According to the South China Morning Post, Burnham stated that upon entering Downing Street a few months ago, he was given a "clear answer" that Moscow interfered in the EU membership vote. He noted the importance of putting this on the record to assist voters as far-right parties rise in those countries.

During a meeting in Berlin this week, Burnham spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz regarding the threat posed by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Burnham told the South China Morning Post that he expressed a need to support Merz in addressing the type of politics the country is facing, while Merz suggested the AfD is linked to and likely funded by Russia.

France 24 reports that while Burnham has highlighted interference in the Brexit vote, Russia has previously denied meddling in the referendum. Additionally, former British leader Boris Johnson stated in 2020 that there was no evidence of such interference. The South China Morning Post notes that in 2020, Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee found the government had failed to fully assess the potential impact of "troll" accounts and Russian state-run media on the referendum.

Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, South China Morning Post — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.