Russian networks tried to disrupt UK election but did not cause ‘notable’ impact

Russian interference networks tried to disrupt the UK general election last year, but did not cause a “notable” impact, the security minister has said.

Efforts to promote pro-Russian messages during the election period were not deemed by officials to have influenced the voting process, which overall saw “relatively low levels” of attempted interference.

Dan Jarvis told the National Security Strategy Joint Committee of the findings as he was quizzed on the Government’s approach to defending democratic institutions on Monday.

Mr Jarvis said: “I can tell the committee that the UK witnessed relatively low levels of attempted interference activity, which we judged to have not reached the relevant thresholds to impact or influence the outcome of elections.

“But I think the committee will also be interested to know that the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) monitored known Russian foreign information manipulation and interference networks as part of the collaborative HMG effort to tackle the information threats to the general election.

“We saw Russian attributed networks such as Doppelganger promote pro-Russian messages with the intent to disrupt normal functions of election and voting processes.

“However, this was not judged to have caused a notable impact on the last election. But as I say, we are not remotely complacent about the potential for it happening in the future.”

Doppleganger is known as a vast online network which floods social media with fake posts, counterfeit documents and deepfake material, according to the FCDO.

Last October, the Government placed sanctions on Russian state-backed agencies it said was responsible for Doppleganger, called the Social Design Agency and a partner company, Structura, over their attempts to destabilise Ukraine.

Asked if “we are too timid” in responding and taking action against “adversaries”, Mr Jarvis rejected the notion, adding: “I would say that we take these threats incredibly seriously.

“We are well organised, and we’ve got the work strands in place that we need to make sure that we’ve got the policy foundation, and the resources in place to address the threats that we face.”

Online safety minister Baroness Jones added that when faced with Russian bots trying to change the election “we acted very quickly” coordinating responses from across Government with the FCDO but also with “fellow” countries, including a response from the G7.

“We do have the mechanisms in place, and we are watching very very carefully what’s occurring,” the minister added.

Mr Jarvis also said he would come back to the committee with a response when asked what punitive action was taken in light of efforts made to disrupt the election last year.