The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has judged it “credible” that Russia tried to interfere in the Scottish independence referendum as part of an effort to influence political life in the UK.
MPs setting out the Russia report have told Boris Johnson to order an assessment of “potential” Russian meddling in the Brexit referendum. The government “did not want to know” if there been interference in the 2016 vote – and had “actively avoided looking for evidence”, they said.
However the government quickly rejected the call for further enquiries, with foreign secretary Dominic Raab describing a retrospective investigation as “unnecessary”.
Moscow 'meddled in 2019 election and Scottish referendum'
Moscow tried to manipulate the last general election and the Scottish independence referendum 5 years prior – but there is no evidence it worked to steer the EU referendum, the Russia report is expected to say, according to reports, writes Vincent Wood.
The Intelligence and Security Committee’s long-awaited report on Russian interference in British democracy had been completed in early 2019, according to former MP Dominic Grieve, who was among the figures to draft it.
However, the release of the paper was ultimately delayed by intelligence service clearance and the general election, despite calls for it to be shared with the public amid claims it contained relevant information for those heading to the ballot box.
War of words with Beijing hots up
The UK will "bear the consequences" of suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, China has warned.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said Beijing had expressed its concerns over the UK interfering in Hong Kong matters "which are internal affairs of China".
The spokesman said: "Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of China's solemn position and repeated representations.
"It once again contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong SAR and undermine the city's prosperity and stability.
"The UK will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road."
The statement came as Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, prepared to meet Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab on Tuesday.
Mr Pompeo and his boss, Donald Trump, have reason to be please with their UK counterparts this week, after Huawei was booted out of Britain's 5G infrastructure following a massive American lobby campaign - and punishing sanctions on the Chinese company.
Mr Pompeo wrote on Twitter: "Great to be back in London to reaffirm the special relationship we share with our closest ally."
New sanctions proposed for MPs who break rules
A Commons committee has recommended new punishments for MPs who break rules governing their conduct.
These may include sending MPs on compulsory anger management or "inclusion and diversity" courses, banning them from official visits, or removing them from a select committee.
The Commons Committee on Standards is seeking to address a lack of "intermediate sanctions" between existing powers calling for an apology or suspending an MP.
Chris Bryant, the chair, said: "We want to ensure that the system is fair, professional and proportionate and that it rewards best practice.
"For too long the only sanctions available against MPs have been a slap on the wrist or suspension from the House."
Inflation-busting pay rises for teachers and doctors
Nearly 900,000 public sector workers are to receive a pay rise, chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced, after months of political pressure to reward key workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, writes Andy Gregory.
Doctors, dentists, teachers, police officers and soldiers are among those who will see extra money in their wage packets, as the government chooses to honour the recommendations of independent pay review bodies.
Teachers and doctors will see the largest above-inflation increases, at 3.1 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively, according to the Treasury. But NHS staff in other roles were left out of the announcement.
Extensions to homes could be fast-tracked
Home extensions of up to two storeys could be fast-tracked as part of new planning rules that will be put before MPs on Tuesday.
The new laws, which include changes to the planning process for knocking down former shops, are designed to speed up the building of new homes, said Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary.
Mr Jenrick is a fan of fast-tracked planning approvals.
Due to come into effect by September, the change will mean full planning applications will not be required to demolish and rebuild unused buildings as homes, allowing commercial and retail properties to be quickly repurposed, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Homeowners will also be able to add up to two additional storeys to their home, to create new homes or more living space for growing families, through a fast track approval process - although there will be a requirement to "carefully consider the impact on neighbours and the appearance of the extension", said the department.
Pubs, libraries, village shops and other buildings deemed essential to communities by ministers will not be covered by the loosening of the restrictions.
Pompeo returns to London
Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, is to meet Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab in London today.
The Trump administration is likely pleased with its transatlantic ally at the moment, given the tough line Mr Johnson has taken on China and, in particular, Huawei.
MPs have defeated an attempt by Tory backbenchers to ensure parliament has a vote on any post-Brexit trade deals.
An amendment to the Trade Bill currently going through the Commons would have given MPs and peers a say on any new agreement signed by the government.
Jonathan Djanogly, the Conservative MP who led the rebellion, had argued that the US congress approves similar deals. He accused the government of taking a position of “less scrutiny than we did as a member of the EU” – because EU trade deals are subject to a vote in the European Parliament.
Although his amendment was supported by Labour and the Liberal Democrats it failed to attract enough Tory rebels to pass.
Tory backbenchers defeated in attempt to put any post-Brexit trade deals through parliament
Clause rejected by 263 votes to 326Millions could miss out on justice
Millions could be deprived of access to justice as financial and social issues born out of the Covid-19 pandemic highlight a growing gap in legal aid funding, a national legal charity has warned, writes May Bulman.
A report by the Law Centres Network finds that a large proportion of the public will be left without “vital” assistance to protect their home, job or benefits during the crisis without also pushing themselves and their families into poverty, because they fall into what is known as the “justice gap”.
Policing minister Kit Malthouse said he does not know if Russia meddled in the Scottish independence referendum or Brexit vote.
Asked on BBC Breakfast why it has taken so long for the report to be published, he said there has been a general election, adding: “This report is the property of the committee itself and they make a decision about its publication. The fact that the committee took a little time to get going after the general election probably delayed it too.”
Asked if he thinks Russia tried to influence the Scottish and EU referendums, he said: “I don’t know. I haven’t read the report. I’ll have to wait and see what they have to say.”
Malthouse was asked if he feels “uncomfortable” that some of the money received by the Conservative Party every year comes from Russian business people.
He said all donations to the party are received in accordance with the law, adding: “All our donations are, as all the parties are, declared publicly for people to examine and see for themselves.”
Malthouse said: “There are lots of people who donate to political parties of all colours, who have a background outside of the UK. We don’t discriminate on the basis of their race or their immigration origin. The law is the law and we comply with that.”
It was a long, gruelling journey, but EU leaders have finally arrived at an agreement on a £677bn coronavirus recovery fund.
The 27 leaders reportedly bumped elbows and made jokes as they approved the huge, unprecedented package of grants and loans. Perhaps it was delirium after several days of little sleep. A consensus was reached early this morning on a package loans and grants to the countries hit hardest by the virus.
“An extraordinary situation demands extraordinary efforts,” said the German chancellor Angela Merkel, while French president Emmanuel Macron added: “There is no such thing as a perfect world, but we have made progress.”
EU leaders reach 'historic' deal on €750bn coronavirus recovery package after marathon talks
Compromise reached after at-times heated arguments between northern and southern statesSo what will be in the Russia report when the Intelligence and Security Committee lay out the details at a “virtual press event” at 10.30am?
The ISC has found that Russia attempted to influence the Scottish independence referendum but not the Brexit vote, according to The Telegraph.
The newspaper said the report by MPs and peers described the Kremlin’s role in the vote as “the first post-Soviet interference in a Western democratic election” – and said there was “credible open-source commentary that Russia undertook to influence the campaign on Scottish independence”
But after an 18-month investigation, the ISC found no evidence to suggest Russia played any part in the Brexit referendum, according to the leaked details.
We’ll have to wait and see what the report actually says on the 2016 EU vote, but Nigel Farage is already claiming “serious apologies are due” before the 50-page report is even released.
Policing minister Kit Malthouse denied that chief nursing officer Ruth May had been silenced by No 10 after she told MPs on Monday she had been “dropped”.
The Independent first reported back in June that she had been dropped after criticising Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham (saying lockdown rules should apply to all).
Malthouse told the BBC on Tuesday morning: “The prime minister and ministers are responsible for the decisions that have been taken and the science is meant to inform their decisions.
“Who or who doesn’t appear at a podium at a particular press conference seems to me less relevant than this hard-working and dedicated public servant can speak when she wishes and she has done, obviously, before and since. I don’t think there’s any intention to restrict that.”
Chief nurse confirms she was dropped from No 10 briefing after criticising Dominic Cummings
‘It is indeed true I was dropped from a briefing,’ Ruth May tells MPsA busy day in London lies ahead for US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. He is expected to meet Iain Duncan Smith and other anti-Huawei Tory rebels at a private event organised by the right-wing think tank The Henry Jackson Society.
The Trump official will then head over to Downing Street for talks with Boris Johnson and foreign secretary Dominic Raab, before a press conference at 3pm.
Labour officials told Politico that Pompeo will also meet with Keir Starmer later this afternoon, but it isn’t on the secretary of state’s official schedule yet.
The above-inflation pay rise announced earlier today will see almost 900,000 workers benefit, with teachers and doctors seeing the largest increase at 3.1 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively, according to the Treasury.
Labour’s shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds tweeted: “The Tories froze public sector pay for seven long years. A pay rise now won’t make up for a decade of real terms pay cuts for many frontline workers.
“Others won’t get a penny more as Tory promises to maintain local authority funding haven’t materialised. That's not good enough.”
Russia is operating in the UK through “oligarchs” who “spend their money on highly placed people”, according to British investment firm boss Bill Browder.
Browder, the CEO of Hermitage Capital, who gave evidence for the report, told the BBC said these figures “would basically do intelligence and influence work”.
How far will the report delve into the influence of Russian money in British politics? Although this morning’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) 50-page document is expected to cover political donations from wealthy Russians, reports suggest it won’t actually name any names.
Ahead of the Russia report’s release Labour MP Chirs Byrant has called for “golden visas” for wealthy Russians to be scrapped.
The chairman of the Commons committee on standards said recent history showed the UK should “always” treat the country with caution.
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has released the report in full on its website.
On the EU referendum of 2016 it states: “There have been widespread public allegations that Russia sought to influence the 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. The impact of any such attempts would be difficult – if not impossible – to assess, and we have not sought to do so. However, it is important to establish whether a hostile state took deliberate action with the aim of influencing a UK democratic process, irrespective of whether it was successful or not.”
On the Scottish referendum of 2014 it states: “There has been credible open source commentary suggesting that Russia undertook influence campaigns in relation to the Scottish independence referendum in 2014.”
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has released its conclusions:
“Successive governments have welcomed the oligarchs and their money with open arms, providing them with a means of recycling illicit finance through the London ‘laundromat’, and connections at the highest levels with access to UK companies and political figures.
“This has led to a growth industry of ‘enablers’ including lawyers, accountants, and estate agents who are – wittingly or unwittingly – de facto agents of the Russian state.
“It clearly demonstrates the inherent tension between the Government’s prosperity agenda and the need to protect national security. While we cannot now shut the stable door, greater powers and transparency are needed urgently.
“UK is clearly a target for Russian disinformation. While the mechanics of our paper-based voting system are largely sound, we cannot be complacent about a hostile state taking deliberate action with the aim of influencing our democratic processes.
“Yet the defence of those democratic processes has appeared something of a ‘hot potato’, with no one organisation considering itself to be in the lead, or apparently willing to conduct an assessment of such interference. This must change.
“Social media companies must take action and remove covert hostile state material: government must ‘name and shame’ those who fail to act.”
MPs on the Intelligence and Security Committee have told Boris Johnson to order an assessment of “potential” Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Criticising the government for avoiding attempts to investigate any efforts to influence in the outcome, the committee said the government “did not want to know” if there been interference – and had “actively avoided looking for evidence that Russia interfered”.
“We were told they hadn’t seen any evidence but that is meaningless if they hadn’t looked for it,” they concluded.
They added: “It is nonetheless the committee’s view that the UK intelligence community should produce an analogous assessment of potential Russian interference in the EU referendum and that an unclassified summary of it be published.”
'Potential' Russian interference in Brexit must be investigated, PM told
MPs have told Boris Johnson to order an assessment of 'potential' Russian interference in the Brexit referendum, as the long-suppressed Russia report is finally releasedShadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has said it was “extraordinary” that the prime minister took the political decision last October ahead of the general election to “block” the publication of the report.
She tweeted: “The report is very clear that the government has underestimated the response required to Russia and it is imperative we learn the lessons from the mistakes that have been made. The Labour Party calls on the government to study the conclusions of the report carefully and take the necessary steps to keep our country safe.”
