Russian spies targeting UK MPs and media with ‘cyber interference’

Russian spies have been targeting MPs, journalists and others with cyber hacking as part of a concerted attempt to meddle in British politics, a Foreign Office minister has said.

Leo Docherty, a minister under David Cameron, told the House of Commons that the Russian federal security service was using “cyber interference” to target politically connected people.

“I can confirm today that the Russian federal security services, the FSB, is behind a sustained effort to interfere in our democratic processes,” he said. “They have targeted members of this house and the [House of Lords]. They have been targeting civil servants, journalists and NGOs. They have been targeting high-profile individuals and entities with a clear intent – using information they obtain to meddle in British politics.”

MPs have previously complained about being targeted by hackers, with Labour’s Ben Bradshaw saying in 2019 that he believed he had been subject to interference by Russia. The Russian government was also suspected in 2017 of being behind a cyber-attack on parliament that breached dozens of email accounts belonging to MPs and peers.

However, this is the strongest confirmation from the government that it believes Russia is currently trying to interfere in the UK’s democratic processes.

A damning report from parliament’s intelligence and security committee found in 2020 that the British government and intelligence agencies failed to conduct any proper assessment of Kremlin attempts to interfere with the 2016 Brexit referendum.

The long-delayed Russia report at the time said ministers in effect turned a blind eye to allegations of Russian disruption. It said the government “had not seen or sought evidence of successful interference in UK democratic processes” at the time, and it made clear that no serious effort was made to do so.