UK PM Andy Burnham says it is ‘clear’ Russia interfered in 2016 Brexit vote

What the report says

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said it is “clear” Russia interfered in the United Kingdom’s 2016 Brexit referendum, according to Al Jazeera’s reporting from October 12, 2026. The claim was made in an interview on the podcast The Rest Is Politics and, as Al Jazeera noted, appears to be the first time a UK prime minister has publicly acknowledged Russian interference in the vote to leave the European Union.

Burnham said he had asked whether there had been Russian interference and received an affirmative answer, but he did not present evidence or give specific details. He also said the issue mattered because it should be recorded clearly and because voters in Germany and France should understand that similar political influence could be aimed at them.

The prime minister linked the remarks to wider concerns about Russian activity in Europe. Al Jazeera reported that Burnham had recently discussed possible ties between Russia and Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, and that he had previously accused Russia of trying to interfere in the UK’s 2019 general election in a speech to the United Nations.

For context, Al Jazeera cited a 2020 parliamentary intelligence report that said the UK government had not sought a deep assessment of Russian interference in the Brexit referendum, while confirming Russian meddling in Scotland’s 2014 independence vote. Russia has consistently denied interfering in Western elections or referendums.