UK prime minister say it is ‘clear’ Russia interfered in 2016 Brexit referendum

RTÉ reports that Burnham said when he entered No 10 in the summer, he had asked whether Moscow interfered in the 2016 vote on whether to leave the EU and was given "the clear answer that yes there was".[2] The South China Morning Post notes that Burnham did not reveal who gave him a 'clear answer' that Russia had meddled.[3]According to UPI, Burnham made the remarks to hosts Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart of The Rest is Politics podcast[4]. The Kyiv Independent, citing the Observer, says the episode is set to come out Oct. 12.[5]ITV News reports that Burnham said putting this on the record would help "voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia."[6] He also told the podcast, according to ITV, "we haven't informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas."[6]The AP reports that Burnham discussed the far-right Alternative for Germany party with Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, saying of Merz: "he was saying to me that the AfD are clearly linked to Russia, funded I believe"[1].The AP adds that Russia has long said it does not meddle in other countries' elections or referendums.[1]RTÉ notes that Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee found in 2020 that the Government failed to fully assess the impact Russian state-run media and "troll" accounts could have had on the EU referendum.[2]