After a nine-month delay, much speculation about its contents and attempts by Downing Street to downplay its significance, the Russia report by parliament’s intelligence and security committee has finally been published, investigating the Kremlin’s reach in UK politics. So what does it say? Here are some of the key points: UK government failed to investigate evidence of successful interference in democratic processes The inquiry did not seek to assess the impact of Russia’s alleged attempts to influence the 2016 EU referendum, and the report explains that it would be “difficult – if not impossible” to do so. It says: “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.” The committee was not able to do so, the report states, because there was no attempt by the government or intelligence services to investigate. In a section about the referendum, the report says: “The written evidence provided to us appeared to suggest that HMG [Her Majesty’s government] had not seen or sought evidence of successful interference in UK democratic processes or any activity that has had a material impact on an election, for example influencing results.” It further indicates that open-source material, including studies of attempts to influence the referendum using the Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik or social media campaigns, “was not fully taken into account”. In contrast with America’s handling of allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, where there was an intelligence community assessment, the report states: “We have not been provided with any post-referendum assessment of Russian attempts at interference.” It adds: “Even if the conclusion of any such assessment were that there was minimal interference, this would nonetheless represent a helpful reassurance to the public that the UK’s democratic processes had remained relatively safe.” ‘Credible open-source commentary’ suggesting Russia sought to influence Scottish independence referendum There has been “credible open source commentary” indicating Russia tried to influence the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, according to the report. In a partially redacted sentence, it says: “However, at the time ***. It appears that *** what some commentators have described as potentially the first post-Soviet Russian interference in a western democratic process. We note that – almost five years on – ***.”
Russian influence in the UK is ‘the new normal’ In a section on Russian expatriates, the report refers to Britain “welcoming oligarchs with open arms”. However, it says the UK government’s building of links with major Russian companies has been counter-productive, “in that it offered ideal mechanisms by which illicit finance could be recycled through what has been referred to as the London ‘laundromat’”. The report damningly concludes: “The money was also invested in extending patronage and building influence across a wide sphere of the British establishment – PR firms, charities, political interests, academia and cultural institutions were all willing beneficiaries of Russian money, contributing to a ‘reputation laundering’ process. In brief, Russian influence in the UK is ‘the new normal’, and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth. This level of integration – in ‘Londongrad’ in particular – means that any measures now being taken by the government are not preventive but rather constitute damage limitation.” The report states that Russian links to the UK’s elite provide access to companies and political figures, meaning they have a means for influence. “To a certain extent, this cannot be untangled and the priority now must be to mitigate the risk and ensure that, where hostile activity is uncovered, the tools exist to tackle it at source,” the report states. Links between Russian elite and UK politics Members of the Russian elite closely linked to Vladimir Putin are involved in charitable and political organisations in the UK, putting them in a position to help the Kremlin influence operations, the report says. “Several members of the Russian elite who are closely linked to Putin are identified as being involved with charitable and/or political organisations in the UK, having donated to political parties, with a public profile which positions them to assist Russian influence operations. It is notable that a number of members of the House of Lords have business interests linked to Russia, or work directly for major Russian companies linked to the Russian state – these relationships should be carefully scrutinised, given the potential for the Russian state to exploit them.” Intelligence community ‘took its eye off the ball’ on Russia In a section covering the “allocation of effort”, the report questions whether the intelligence community took its eye off the ball in its response to Russia. It states: “If we consider the Russian threat to have been clearly indicated in 2006 with the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, and then take events such as the annexation of Crimea in 2014 as firmly underlining Russian intent on the global stage, the question is whether the intelligence community should – and could – have reacted more quickly and increased operational effort on Russia. “On figures alone, it could be said that they took their eye off the ball; nevertheless, the heads of MI5, SIS, GCHQ and defence intelligence all sought to defend against this suggestion.” UK’s paper-and-pencil voting system makes direct interference harder The UK’s voting system is “largely sound”, with the paper-based approach making it more difficult to influence, according to the report. It says: “In terms of the direct threat to elections, we have been informed that the mechanics of the UK’s voting system are deemed largely sound: the use of a highly dispersed, paper-based voting and counting system makes any significant interference difficult, and we understand that GCHQ has undertaken a great deal of work to help ensure that the online voter registration system is safe.” Work is being undertaken “nonetheless” by GCHQ to mitigate any risks to the voting system. Defending UK’s democratic processes is a ‘hot potato’ No one organisation in the UK recognises itself as having an overall lead on defending the UK’s democratic processes, and the report says “discourse has appeared to be something of a ‘hot potato’”. It says: “Whilst we understand the nervousness around any suggestion that the intelligence and security agencies might be involved in democratic processes – certainly a fear that is writ large in other countries – that cannot apply when it comes to the protection of those processes. And without seeking in any way to imply that DCMS [Department for Culture, Media and Sport] is not capable, or that the Electoral Commission is not a staunch defender of democracy, it is a question of scale and access. “DCMS is a small Whitehall policy department and the Electoral Commission is an arm’s length body; neither is in the central position required to tackle a major hostile state threat to our democracy. Protecting our democratic discourse and processes from hostile foreign interference is a central responsibility of government, and should be a ministerial priority.” The operation role should sit primarily with MI5, the report says. Social media companies, “which hold the key”, are “failing to play their part”, the report says. “The government must now seek to establish a protocol with the social media companies to ensure that they take covert hostile-state use of their platforms seriously, and have clear timescales within which they commit to removing such material.” The report calls on the government to “name and shame” those who fail to act. Errors in Salisbury poisoning and weapons watchdog hack do not diminish Moscow threat Mistakes by Russian operatives in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, and the attempted hacking of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in 2018, may demonstrate that the country’s intelligence services are “not infallible”, the report notes. But it adds: “It would be foolhardy to think that they are any less dangerous because of these mistakes.” The report says it is likely Russian intelligence will “learn from their errors”, becoming “more difficult to detect and protect against as a result”. New legislation needed to replace outdated spy laws The report calls for new legislation to replace the outdated Official Secrets Act, which it says is not fit for purpose. Current legislation enabling action against foreign spies is “acknowledged to be weak”, the report says, adding: “In particular, the Official Secrets Acts are out of date – crucially, it is not illegal to be a foreign agent in this country.” The report states: “We recognise the need to get legislation right. Nevertheless, it is very clear that the Official Secrets Act regime is not fit for purpose and the longer this goes unrectified, the longer the intelligence community’s hands are tied. It is essential that there is a clear commitment to bring forward new legislation to replace it (and a timetable within which it will be introduced) that can be used by MI5 to defend the UK against agents of a hostile foreign power such as Russia.” The report highlights that unexplained wealth orders, introduced recently to tackle criminal activities, may not be that useful in relation to the Russian elite, citing practical issues around their use. It also “strongly” supports the National Crime Agency’s suggested amendments to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, such as including serious and organised crime as grounds for introducing sanctions. The report also calls for the Computer Misuse Act to be updated to reflect modern use of personal electronic devices.