House of Commons · Written Ministerial Statement
Cyber Security: Update
16 July 2020 · Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Proposed by Dominic Raab Con Esher and Walton
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
At a glance
Key points
- Government concluded Russian actors interfered in the 2019 General Election through amplification of leaked UK-US Free Trade Agreement documents.
- An ongoing criminal investigation into the leak is currently taking place.
- The UK reserves the right to take appropriate measures in response to such interference in the future.
Issue summary
Dominic Raab is providing an update on the investigation into the leak of UK-US Free Trade Agreement documents before the 2019 General Election.
Action requested
The Government has concluded that Russian actors sought to interfere in the election through online amplification of leaked documents. An ongoing criminal investigation is taking place, and the UK reserves the right to respond with appropriate measures in the future. The UK supports international partners in calling out and responding to such malign activity.
Key facts
- Sensitive Government documents relating to the UK-US Free Trade Agreement were illicitly acquired before the 2019 General Election.
- Further attempts were made to promote the illicitly acquired material online in the run up to the election.
- The Intelligence and Security Committee has been briefed on the incident.
- A cross-Government election security cell was established during the 2019 General Election.