Burnham did not explain how he believed Russia had interfered in the referendum or provide details of the evidence underpinning his statement.
Reuters
12 October, 2026, 08:40 am
Last modified: 12 October, 2026, 08:46 am
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit vote, warning voters in France and Germany about Moscow-backed efforts to influence their politics.
Burnham, who took over as Britain's leader in July and said last month that Britain could consider rejoining the European Union in the future, is the first British prime minister to publicly say there was evidence of Russian interference in the referendum a decade ago.
"I asked the question coming to Downing Street, was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia? And I've had the clear answer that yes, there was," Burnham said in an interview with The Rest Is Politics podcast released on Sunday.
Burnham did not explain how he believed Russia had interfered in the referendum or provide details of the evidence underpinning his statement.
The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia has previously denied meddling in the Brexit vote, describing Britain as gripped by anti-Russian hysteria.
Burnham's comments mark a departure from those of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who campaigned to leave the EU and said in 2020 that there was no evidence of Russian interference in the referendum.
Britons voted 52%-48% to leave the EU in 2016, plunging the country into its biggest political crisis since the Second World War.
Burnham said voters in European democracies needed to be better informed about efforts to disrupt their politics.
"I mean, these things are important now to put clearly on the record, and I believe, help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia," he said.
The British government failed to establish whether Russia had meddled in the 2016 referendum on EU membership, according to a report by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee in 2020.
The report also found that Russia had sought to influence Scotland's 2014 independence referendum, in which voters rejected independence.
Burnham said last month that he could campaign to take Britain back into the EU at the next general election, reopening the country's divisive debate over its relationship with the continent.