The Russia Report

[tinpeeba]

BREAKING: The scaffolding is removed to reveal Westminster's makeover

[AlexO]

I may have missed the specific details but I have yet to see anything apart from the old Ruskies "interfered" with the Scottish referendum and other political events in the UK. The Labour Party are up on their usual high horse claiming that this was all to advantage the Tories. One would have thought that if anything the Russians would have 'interfered to help Corbyn and his Marxist crew. Has anyone seen any specific subjects that Putin's boys actually interfered with.

[GT93]

I liked how Theresa May stood up and eye balled Putin. That's what we expect from a British PM. It seems to me that Putin wants chaos in the UK and Europe and Johnson is the man for that.

[tinpeeba]

The Russia Report reveals that the UK's intelligence services did not investigated whether there was Russian interference in the Referendum because it was considered too politically sensitive even to ask the question. It calls for such an investigation to ascertain what evidence there is of Russian interference but Johnson has already rejected this saying that there is no need for an investigation because there is no evidence of Russian interference!
So it seems we will never get to the truth of the matter but, whether or not it it interfered, it is clear that Putin's Russia definitely benefits from Brexit because of the damage it does to both the UK and the EU.

The Times view on the Tories and Russian money is here:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the- ... -trrvtt0xb

The Report (redacted and Annex not published) can be read here (it's about a 20 minute read):
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... Y3NjM0OWFl

To summarise, the Report's main findings were:

Election interference was ignored by ministers (except where they felt Russia was helping Corbyn, in 2019). The government actively avoided looking into Russian interference.

The government took its eye off the ball, there was insufficient focus on hostile states, compared to Islamic terror groups. The issue of protecting the integrity of British elections had become a “hot potato” with no one government ministry or intelligence agency taking the lead. As such, it was at times “surprisingly difficult to establish who has responsibility for what”.

The London Laundromat - London is awash with Russian money, which has poured into the city since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Lawyers, public relations firms, accountants, and real estate agents have enabled Russian oligarchs close to Putin to launder their reputations and their money in the UK. The report states "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 preventative but rather constitute damage limitation."

Russia's cyber threat - Russia is a highly capable cyber actor with a proven capability to carry out operations which can deliver a range of impacts across any sector.

Organised crime - Russia has sought to employ organised crime groups to supplement its cyber skills.

[AlexO]

The Russia Report reveals that the UK's intelligence services did not investigated whether there was Russian interference in the Referendum because it was considered too politically sensitive even to ask the question. It calls for such an investigation to ascertain what evidence there is of Russian interference but Johnson has already rejected this saying that there is no need for an investigation because there is no evidence of Russian interference!
So it seems we will never get to the truth of the matter but, whether or not it it interfered, it is clear that Putin's Russia definitely benefits from Brexit because of the damage it does to both the UK and the EU.

The Times view on the Tories and Russian money is here:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the- ... -trrvtt0xb

The Report (redacted and Annex not published) can be read here (it's about a 20 minute read):
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... Y3NjM0OWFl

To summarise, the Report's main findings were:

Election interference was ignored by ministers (except where they felt Russia was helping Corbyn, in 2019). The government actively avoided looking into Russian interference.

The government took its eye off the ball, there was insufficient focus on hostile states, compared to Islamic terror groups. The issue of protecting the integrity of British elections had become a “hot potato” with no one government ministry or intelligence agency taking the lead. As such, it was at times “surprisingly difficult to establish who has responsibility for what”.

The London Laundromat - London is awash with Russian money, which has poured into the city since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Lawyers, public relations firms, accountants, and real estate agents have enabled Russian oligarchs close to Putin to launder their reputations and their money in the UK. The report states "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 preventative but rather constitute damage limitation."

Russia's cyber threat - Russia is a highly capable cyber actor with a proven capability to carry out operations which can deliver a range of impacts across any sector.

Organised crime - Russia has sought to employ organised crime groups to supplement its cyber skills.

Pee Ba
I have read your post and still cannot find any specific evidence of "interference" or just an example of what that "interference" was Just because some rich Russians set up a second home in London or the suburbs does not mean they are interfering in UK politics. Jeez are we getting to be like an English speaking Nation of some 360 million that is positioned between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

[Khun Paul]

Old news and considering what has been happening the last few months, does anyone really care . Russia interfering in this and that last time they really interfered the USA got Trump. Not really a problem for the UK

[AlexO]

Old news and considering what has been happening the last few months, does anyone really care . Russia interfering in this and that last time they really interfered the USA got Trump. Not really a problem for the UK

Paul, just how did they interfere?? If they did it during National elections what are doing to interfere with everyones daily life. Answers on a postage stamp please.

[tinpeeba]

Pee Ba
I have read your post and still cannot find any specific evidence of "interference" or just an example of what that "interference" was Just because some rich Russians set up a second home in London or the suburbs does not mean they are interfering in UK politics. Jeez are we getting to be like an English speaking Nation of some 360 million that is positioned between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Re specific evidence; classified oral and written evidence and the Annex to the report, which would damage the operational capabilities of the intelligence Agencies if it were published, has been redacted.

Some examples of the sort of interference they are concerned about can be found here:
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-cont ... ce_web.pdf