Scottish Independence: ‘Russia attempted to influence 2014 referendum’ reveals report

The full report on Russian interference in British democracy will be released on Tuesday
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

An investigation has found that Russia attempted to influence the Scottish independence referendum but not the Brexit vote, according to reports.

A long-awaited probe into alleged Russian interference in British democracy, due to be published on Tuesday, found "credible open-source commentary that Russia undertook to influence the campaign on Scottish independence" in 2014, the Telegraph reported.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The paper said the report by MPs and peers described the Kremlin's role in the vote that could have split the UK as "the first post-Soviet interference in a Western democratic election".

The full report on Russian interference in British democracy will be released on Tuesday. Picture, John Devlin.The full report on Russian interference in British democracy will be released on Tuesday. Picture, John Devlin.
The full report on Russian interference in British democracy will be released on Tuesday. Picture, John Devlin.

But after an 18-month investigation, Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) found nothing to suggest Russia played any part in the 2016 European Union poll, said the newspaper.

Read More
Quarantine measures set to be lifted for Scots returning from Spain

The full document is set to be published following months of delays, days after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab claimed it was "almost certain" that Moscow had tried to interfere in the 2019 election.

The ISC report, prepared by the committee's members in the previous Parliament, was postponed by Boris Johnson's decision to call a general election and the need to re-establish the committee's membership.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Raab said last week that "Russian actors" had tried to influence the 2019 contest by "amplifying" stolen Government papers online.

The documents, relating to US-UK trade talks, were picked up by then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who said they were evidence the Conservatives were preparing to open up the NHS to US pharmaceutical companies.

Relations between the UK and Russia have been under severe strain since the Salisbury Novichok poisoning in 2018, which left former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in hospital and led to the death of Dawn Sturgess.

The incident resulted in Russian diplomats being expelled from Britain by then prime minister Theresa May.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Raab also announced this month, in a move that irked President Vladimir Putin's administration, that he was imposing sanctions on 25 Russian nationals linked to the death in custody of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in 2009 after exposing massive corruption in the Interior Ministry.

The ISC's alleged findings of interference in British democracy come after the UK, US and Canada claimed that Russian intelligence-linked hackers tried to steal details of research into coronavirus vaccines.

Russia's ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin dismissed the accusations in a BBC interview.

He said his country had no interest in interfering in British domestic politics.

"We do not interfere at all," he said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We do not see any point in interference because for us, whether it will be (the) Conservative Party or Labour's party at the head of this country, we will try to settle relations and to establish better relations than now."

Asked about the alleged attempts to steal details of coronavirus research, Mr Kelin said: "I don't believe in this story at all, there is no sense in it."

Reporting by PA

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.