U.K. Russia Report: Allegations Kremlin Sought to Influence 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum ‘Credible’
GETTING OUT THE VOTE
A long-awaited report into allegations of Russian meddling in British democracy has concluded that reports that Russia carried out “influence campaigns” around the 2014 Scottish independence referendum are “credible.” But it also stopped short of definitively saying the Kremlin interfered in either that vote or the Brexit vote. The report from the House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee says “Russian state-owned international broadcasters such as RT and Sputnik” are tools of disinformation and that Britain, having taken “its eye off the ball on Russia,” is now having to “play catch up.” It adds that the U.K. is now “clearly a target for Russian disinformation.” On the crunch issue of Brexit, the committee said it “would be difficult, if not impossible, to prove” the “actual impact” of any Russian interference. However, the body urged ministers to launch a formal probe similar to the one conducted into the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The report also blasted London’s role in washing dirty money from Russian oligarchs, describing the city as a “laundromat” for Russians with “connections at the highest levels with access to U.K. companies and political figures.”