Intelligence and Security Committee Russia report

The inquiry began in November 2017, and a 50-page report was completed in March 2019.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-51417880|title=Russia report: When can we expect it to be published?|publisher=BBC News|date=7 February 2020}} The report thereafter went through a process of redaction by intelligence and security agencies and was sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 17 October 2019.

The committee used the following external expert witnesses.{{Cite work |title=Report on 'Russia' |author=Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament |date=21 July 2020 |page=44 |url=https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20200721_HC632_CCS001_CCS1019402408-001_ISC_Russia_Report_Web_Accessible.pdf }}

• Professor Anne Applebaum – Institute of Global Affairs
• William Browder – Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Movement
• Christopher Donnelly CMG TD – Head of the Institute for Statecraft
• Edward Lucas – Writer and consultant specialising in European and transatlantic security
• Christopher Steele – Director, Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd

Johnson's government refused to release the report to the public before the general election in December 2019.{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5717670/uk-russian-interference-brexit-delayed/|title=U.K. Delays Russian Interference Report Until After Election|magazine=Time|language=en|access-date=2019-11-17}} In November, Christopher Pincher, a junior minister at the Foreign Office, said "it is not unusual for a review of ISC reports to take some time" after Emily Thornberry, opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman, said the decision not to publish was unjustifiable.{{cite web|last=|first=|date=15 November 2019|title=UK accused of withholding report on Russian meddling to spare embarrassment|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-election-russia/uk-accused-of-withholding-report-on-russian-meddling-to-spare-embarrassment-idUSKBN1XF0WC|accessdate=19 August 2020|website=|publisher=Reuters}} A number of legal actions were begun to try to force the government to publish the report: one brought by the widow of the murdered Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, and another by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/15/russian-meddling-report-dissidents-widow-goes-to-law|title=Russian meddling report – dissident's widow goes to law|date=2019-11-15|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-11-17|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/bureau-of-investigative-journalism-crowdfunds-to-take-uk-government-to-court-over-russian-report/s2/a747385/|title=Bureau of Investigative Journalism fundraises to take the UK Government to court over Russian Report |date=2019-11-14|website=journalism.co.uk|publisher=Mousetrap Media|access-date=2019-11-17}}

The Prime Minister approved its release on 13 December 2019, the day after the general election.{{Cite web|url=http://isc.independent.gov.uk/news-archive/17december2019|title=Notice on 17 December 2019|publisher=Intelligence and Security Committee|language=en|access-date=2019-02-24|archive-date=17 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717164310/http://isc.independent.gov.uk/news-archive/17december2019|url-status=dead}} Johnson pledged in Prime Minister's Questions in February 2020 that the report would be released, but said it could not be released until the Intelligence and Security Committee (which disbanded following the dissolution of parliament ahead of the election) was reconstituted; a former chair of the committee, Dominic Grieve, said that this was an "entirely bogus" reason for delaying publication. Grieve had earlier said that the time between approval of release and publication was typically 10 days.{{Cite web|last=Dearden|first=Lizzie|date=2019-11-06|title=Boris Johnson 'blocked release of Russia report against advice of intelligence agencies'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-brexit-news-russia-report-intelligence-agency-grieve-a9187616.html|access-date=2021-02-03|website=The Independent|language=en}}

By June 2020, the report had still not been released, and the Intelligence and Security Committee had not been convened, the longest gap since the committee's creation in 1994.{{Cite web|author=Mattha Busby|date=June 20, 2020|title=Russia report: UK MPs condemn 'utterly reprehensible' delay|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/20/russia-report-uk-mps-condemn-utterly-reprehensible-delay|newspaper=The Guardian}} This prompted a cross-party group of 30 MPs to urge the committee to be reconstituted and the report to be published, writing that serious issues of "transparency and integrity" of the democratic process were raised by the withholding of the report.

The report was published on 21 July 2020{{cite web |title=21 July 2020 |url=https://isc.independent.gov.uk/news/ |website=Intelligence and Service Committee of Parliament |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116020906/http://isc.independent.gov.uk/news-archive/21july2020 |archive-date=2021-01-16 |date=2020-07-21}} and was not expected to name individuals and parts of the report were classified due to their sensitive intelligence material and subsequently censored. An uncensored report was available on an "eyes only" basis.{{Cite news|last=Corera|first=Gordon|date=2020-07-21|title=Long-awaited report to detail Russian threat to UK|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-53480682|access-date=2020-07-21}}

{{main|Russian interference in British politics|Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum}}

According to the report, there is substantial evidence that Russian interference in British politics is commonplace. According to the Guardian, the main points of the report are:

• UK government failed to investigate evidence of successful interference in democratic processes
• ‘Credible open-source commentary’ suggesting Russia sought to influence Scottish independence referendum
• Russian influence in the UK is ‘the new normal’
• Links between Russian elite and UK politics
• Intelligence community ‘took its eye off the ball’ on Russia
• UK's paper-and-pencil voting system makes direct interference harder
• Defending UK's democratic processes is a ‘hot potato’
• Errors in Salisbury poisoning and weapons watchdog hack do not diminish Moscow threat
• New legislation needed to replace outdated spy laws.

The report describes the United Kingdom as one of Russia's "top targets" and said it is "seen as central to the Western anti-Russian lobby".{{Cite news|date=2020-07-21|title=UK 'top target' for Russia, says report|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-53484344|access-date=2020-07-21}}

Since the government had not authorised any investigation into the matter, the committee found no evidence that Russian interference had affected the Brexit referendum. Any such attempt without specific authorisation was not within the purview of British intelligence services as any such actions by the security services themselves could be seen as interference, itself undermining democracy.{{Cite news|date=2020-07-21|title=Russia report: UK took its 'eye off the ball' over interference threat, says ISC|language=en-GB|work=Sky News|url=https://news.sky.com/story/russia-report-uk-badly-underestimated-interference-threat-from-moscow-says-isc-12033098}}

However, the report did discover some evidence of co-ordinated interference in online narratives following the 2014 Scottish independence referendum in efforts to spread uncertainty over the result.{{cite web|title=Russia report: Call for inquiry after ISC finds 'credible' evidence of attempt to influence 2014 Scottish independence referendum|url= https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/politics/uk-politics/2352770/russia-report-call-for-inquiry-after-isc-finds-credible-evidence-of-attempt-to-influence-2014-scottish-independence-referendum/|date=21 July 2020|accessdate=19 July 2020}}{{cite web|title=Russia Report Reveals Interference in Scottish Independence Referendum|url= https://digit.fyi/report-shows-russian-interference-in-scottish-independence-referendum/|date=21 July 2020|accessdate=19 August 2020}}{{Cite web|title=Russia report LIVE: Downing Street rejects call to examine Brexit referendum claims|url=https://news.sky.com/story/russia-report-on-alleged-interference-in-uk-politics-set-to-released-12033031|access-date=2020-07-21|website=Sky News|language=en}}

The content of the report was described by the Russian government as "fake-shaped Russophobia".{{Cite news|date=2020-07-21|title=UK 'actively avoided' investigating Russian threat|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-53484344|access-date=2020-07-21}}{{Cite web|title=Russian influence in the UK is the 'new normal,' widely anticipated report claims|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/russian-influence-uk-normal-widely-anticipated-report-claims/story?id=71892151|access-date=2020-07-21|website=ABC News|language=en}}

• Mueller Report

{{reflist}}

• [http://isc.independent.gov.uk/ ISC home page] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20200721093148/http://isc.independent.gov.uk/ Archived] at the Internet Archive on 21 July 2020)
• [https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20200721_HC632_CCS001_CCS1019402408-001_ISC_Russia_Report_Web_Accessible.pdf The Russia Report] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20210217182112/https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20200721_HC632_CCS001_CCS1019402408-001_ISC_Russia_Report_Web_Accessible.pdf Archived] at the Internet Archive on 17 February 2021)
• [https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20200721_Russia_Press_Notice.pdf Press release from the ISC] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20210316150422/https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20200721_Russia_Press_Notice.pdf Archived] at the Internet Archive on 16 March 2021)

Category:Russian interference in British politics

Category:2020 in British politics

Category:2020 documents