Intelligence and Security Committee Russia report
"The Russia report" is the report of the British Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) into allegations of Russian interference in British politics, including alleged Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum.[1] The committee completed the report in March 2019 and it was published in July 2020.
The report is notable for its delayed publication, with accusations that the delay was due to political considerations.[2]
Inquiry
The inquiry began in November 2017, and a 50-page report was completed in March 2019.[3] 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.[3]
Expert witnesses
The committee used the following external expert witnesses.[4]
- Professor Anne Applebaum – Institute of Global Affairs
- Mr William Browder – Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Movement
- Mr Christopher Donnelly CMG TD – Head of the Institute for Statecraft
- Mr Edward Lucas – Writer and consultant specialising in European and transatlantic security
- Mr Christopher Steele – Director, Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd
Publication delay
Johnson's government refused to publicly release the report before the general election in December 2019.[5] A number of legal actions were begun to try to force the government to publish it: one brought by the widow of the murdered Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, and another by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.[6][7] The Prime Minister approved its release on 13 December 2019, the day after the general election.[8] Johnson pledged in Prime Minister's Questions in February 2020 that the report would be released, but that 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.[3] Grieve stated that the time between approval of release and publication was typically 10 days.[2]
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.[2] 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.[2]
Publication and content
The report was published on 21 July 2020. It was not expected to name individual names and parts of the report were classified and censored. An uncensored report was available on an "eyes only" basis.[9]
Conclusions
According to the report, there is substantial evidence that Russian interference in British politics is commonplace.[10][11]
The report describes the UK as one of Russia's "top targets" and said it is "seen as central to the Western anti-Russian lobby".[12]
The committee noted that it was impossible to assess whether Russian interference had affected the Brexit referendum, since the government had not authorized any investigation into that matter.[13]
Reactions
The content of the report was described by the Russian government as "fake-shaped Russophobia".[14][15]
References
- ^ Harper, Caroline; Kerbaj, Richard; Wheeler, Tom (17 November 2019). "Revealed: the Russia report". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Mattha Busby (20 June 2020). "Russia report: UK MPs condemn 'utterly reprehensible' delay". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c "Russia report: When can we expect it to be published?". BBC News. 7 February 2020.
- ^ Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (21 July 2020). Report on 'Russia'. p. 44.
- ^ "U.K. Delays Russian Interference Report Until After Election". Time. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ Reuters (15 November 2019). "Russian meddling report – dissident's widow goes to law". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Bureau of Investigative Journalism fundraises to take the UK Government to court over Russian Report". journalism.co.uk. Mousetrap Media. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Notice on 17 December 2019". Intelligence and Security Committee. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ Corera, Gordon (21 July 2020). "Long-awaited report to detail Russian threat to UK". BBC News. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ Castle, Stephen; Landler, Mark (21 July 2020). "'No One' Protected British Democracy From Russia, U.K. Report Concludes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ Neilan, Cat (21 July 2020). "Politics latest news: Russian attempts to influence UK politics are the 'new normal', report claims". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "UK 'top target' for Russia, says report". BBC News. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Russia report LIVE: Downing Street rejects call to examine Brexit referendum claims". Sky News. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "UK 'actively avoided' investigating Russian threat". BBC News. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Russian influence in the UK is the 'new normal,' widely anticipated report claims". ABC News. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
See also
External links
- ISC home page (Archived at the Internet Archive on 21 July 2020)
- The Russia Report (Archived at the Internet Archive on 21 July 2020)
- Press release from the ISC (Archived at the Internet Archive on 21 July 2020)
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