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

Claim marks the first time a UK prime minister has publicly acknowledged Russia’s interference in the vote to leave EU.

Al Jazeera2026-10-12 01:12查看原文 ↗

The claim marks the first time a UK prime minister has publicly acknowledged Russia’s interference in the vote to leave the EU.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham takes part in a business forum at the Chancellery in Berlin on October 8, 2026 [Tobias Schwarz/AFP]

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said it is “clear” that Russia interfered in the country’s 2016 Brexit vote, warning French and German voters of the same threat.

“I asked the question coming to Downing Street: Was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia? And I’ve had the clear answer that yes, there was,” Burnham said in an interview with The Rest Is Politics podcast released on Sunday.

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Burnham’s comments mark the first time a UK prime minister has publicly acknowledged that Russia interfered in the UK’s vote to leave the European Union. Burnham did not provide evidence for or details on the claim.

He said that “these things are important now to put clearly on the record, and, I believe, help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia.”

Burnham said he spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about possible links between Russia and the far-right Alternative for Germany party when the two leaders met last week in Berlin.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly in September, Burnham also condemned Russia’s attempt to interfere in the UK’s 2019 general election.

According to a 2020 report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, the UK government had failed to ask for a deep assessment of Russia’s interference in the 2016 referendum. The report did confirm that Russia had meddled in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum , however.

Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in Western democracies or interfering in another country’s elections or referendums, casting the UK as being gripped by “anti-Russian hysteria”.

UK reconsiders Brexit

Last month, Burnham argued that the UK should reconsider options for a future relationship with the EU, including rejoining the bloc, reigniting the decisive debate more than a decade after the historic vote.

He said that the UK’s departure from the bloc had failed to fulfil Brexit supporters’ pledge of “taking back control”, and instead has made the UK weaker economically and on immigration.

这是英国首相首次公开承认俄罗斯干预英国脱欧公投。

2026年10月8日，英国首相安迪·伯纳姆在柏林总理府参加商业论坛。[Tobias Schwarz/AFP]

英国首相安迪·伯纳姆表示，俄罗斯干预英国2016年脱欧公投是“显而易见的”，并警告法国和德国选民同样的威胁。

“我来到唐宁街时就提出了这个问题：2016 年的公投是否受到了俄罗斯的干预？我得到的答案很明确，是的，确实受到了干预。”伯纳姆在周日发布的“其余即政治”播客节目采访中说道。

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图2/3：数千人游行穿越欧洲，要求以色列停止对加沙的战争

问题 3（共 3 题）：以色列是否关闭了英国驻东耶路撒冷领事馆——或者降低了其级别？

伯纳姆的言论标志着英国首相首次公开承认俄罗斯干预了英国脱欧公投。伯纳姆并未提供证据或细节来支持这一说法。

他说：“现在有必要把这些事情清楚地记录下来，我相信，这有助于德国和法国的选民理解，其中一些政治活动是由我们的敌人，即俄罗斯，煽动起来的。”

伯纳姆表示，上周他与德国总理弗里德里希·默茨在柏林会面时，讨论了俄罗斯与极右翼政党德国另类选择党之间可能存在的联系。

伯纳姆在9月份向联合国大会发表讲话时，也谴责了俄罗斯企图干预英国2019年大选的行为。

根据议会情报与安全委员会2020年的一份报告，英国政府未能要求对俄罗斯干预2016年公投进行深入评估。不过，该报告确实证实，俄罗斯干预了2014年苏格兰独立公投。