British ministers have been accused of turning a blind eye to possible interference by Moscow in the 2016 Brexit referendum, amid claims that Russian influence at the top of UK society was the “new normal”.
A long-awaited parliamentary report into Russian influence in Britain, which Downing Street has sat on for nine months, concluded that the UK was “one of Russia’s top western intelligence targets” but that ministers and spies had dropped their guard.
Senior MPs and peers on the intelligence and security committee said the government appeared not to have “seen or sought evidence of successful interference in UK democratic processes”, including in the Brexit vote.