Burnham says officials told him Russia interfered in Brexit vote

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said officials told him Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum, renewing questions about Moscow’s activity while leaving unresolved whether it affected the result. Burnham said he asked about Russian interference after entering Downing Street and received an affirmative answer. He made the account public in remarks recorded for an episode of The Rest Is Politics, scheduled for release on October 12. The underlying briefing and evidence behind the answer have not been made public in the reports provided. The disclosure distinguishes what Burnham says officials told him from what has been established in published parliamentary findings. A 2020 report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee cited pro-Brexit and anti-EU material from Russian state-backed media, as well as alleged activity by social-media accounts described as bots and trolls. The committee did not conclude that Russian activity changed the referendum result. The committee said it had not sought to determine whether attempted interference succeeded and that its impact would be difficult, if not impossible, to assess.