EU referendum: Burnham: Moscow clearly had a hand in the Brexit vote

Andy Burnham is the first British Prime Minister to confirm Russian interference in the referendum ten years ago. He has a clear message, especially for two countries.

British Prime Minister Burnham recently described Brexit as a “catastrophic mistake”. Photo: IMAGO/

London. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was the first head of government in his country to confirm Russian interference in the Brexit referendum ten years ago. He asked at the government headquarters at 10 Downing Street and received the clear answer: “Yes, there was,” said Burnham, according to advance excerpts from the podcast “The Rest Is Politics.”

Burnham did not say exactly what Russian interference looked like based on these findings. There had been speculation about this for a long time.

During his visit to Berlin last week, he also spoke to Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) about the issue, the Labor politician continued. There is certainly Russian disinformation in Germany too, which is used to influence politics, he added.

"It is now important to state these things clearly. I believe this will help voters in Germany and France understand that some of these political developments are being deliberately initiated by our adversaries, particularly Russia," Burnham continued.

In the referendum ten years ago, the British voted by a narrow majority to leave the EU. A long period of political chaos followed. The exit was finally completed at the beginning of 2020. Burnham recently described Brexit as a “catastrophic mistake” and did not rule out a re-entry.

More: “New escalation”: EU moves closer together against Russia

dpa Published according to the editorial standards of the Handelsblatt. You can find more information in our guidelines.