THE UK Government has refused to publish any information it holds on a shadowy Israeli firm caught meddling in the Scottish parliament elections, citing a Freedom of Information (FOI) exemption that allows documents to be withheld if they would “prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and any other state”.
An identical FOI request submitted to the Scottish Government also saw some information withheld on grounds of “national security”, although other files suggesting the SNP administration only learned of the Israeli firm from the media were released.
On June 12, a report from the French government agency Viginum – the French service for protection against foreign digital interference – said it had detected interference in elections in Scotland, France, and New York City from a shadowy Israeli firm called BlackCore.
In Scotland, the report said that there had been a “mobilisation of at least 256 accounts” targeting First Minister John Swinney and the SNP on social media.
After BlackCore was publicly named, its online presence was wiped, and the identity of those behind it has not been publicly established.
At the time, Swinney said the French government report needed to be “taken seriously”, and the SNP said “any interference in our democratic process must be thoroughly investigated”.
However, the UK Government flatly refused to address the situation.
Two identical FOI requests were then submitted by this newspaper to the UK and Scottish Governments in a bid for the release of “any correspondence (including emails and letters) mentioning the French government agency Viginum and discussing its findings regarding alleged Israeli-linked influence operations (and the firm BlackCore) affecting Scotland or Scottish elections”.
The UK Government responded first, to delay the response time beyond the standard statutory 20-day deadline.
"We have established that your request engages Section 24 of the [FOI] act, which relates to information that must not to be disclosed in order to safeguard national security,” the delay confirmation said.
The UK Cabinet Office then responded again to say that it would not be publishing any of the information requested in order to “avoid giving offence to other nations and retain the trust of our international partners”.
It said: “We have weighed these public interests against a very strong public interest in safeguarding national security. It is important that this sensitive information is protected, as disclosure of information would damage national security. This interest could only be overridden in exceptional circumstances.
“Taking into account all the circumstances of this case, we have determined that the balance of the public interest favours withholding this information.”
The Scottish Government also withheld some information on national security grounds, but published other documents which largely relate to officials trying to coordinate a response to the French government report.
This included Europe Minister Stephen Gethins asking for a letter to be drafted “from him to the Defence Secretary re: the Israeli tech firm accused of targeting FM”, and officials drafting statements to be released to the media.
The files released by the Scottish Government suggest they did not know of the Israeli firm before media reports.
“You might not have seen this (both [REDACTED] and I only had sight this morning) but, given the link to the recent Scottish Elections, I thought it best you were sighted,” one email between two redacted figures states.
Copied in was John Webster, the principal private secretary to the First Minister, who responded: “I have shared this with FM – anticipating that he will want to understand more about this report, what we/UKG and security apparatus know/knew about it, and what actions remedial and future / proactive are being taken.”
Another document states: “This is an update on action taken in response to the report by Viginum, the French Disinformation Service.” However, the update itself is redacted on national security grounds.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay MSP said: “These allegations of meddling in elections from BlackCore represent a potentially extremely serious attack on Scotland’s democracy.
“It is also deeply concerning to see reports that the Scottish Government appears to have learned about them through the press, while the UK Government is refusing to disclose what it knew on grounds of national security and international relations.
“The public deserves to know whether warnings were missed before polling day, and what action has been taken since. All governments should do their part to provide clear assurances that Scotland’s democratic processes are being protected.”
