Russian groups “sought to interfere” in the U.K.s general election last year, the countrys Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.
In a written statement released Thursday, Raab said “on the basis of extensive analysis, the government has concluded that it is almost certain that Russian actors sought to interfere in the 2019 general election through the online amplification of illicitly acquired and leaked government documents.”
The documents in question were “sensitive” and related to ongoing trade negotiations between the U.K. and the U.S., the foreign secretary said, adding that a criminal investigation into the affair is ongoing.
The written statement referred to documents that reached wide notoriety when Jeremy Corbyn, then Labour leader, held them up at a press conference during the 2019 election campaign, claiming the U.K.s National Health Service was “for sale” in trade talks with America.
The documents were traced back to online messaging board Reddit, which in December
politico
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
