Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has made a statement in advance of the publication of the long awaited report on possible Russian interference in British elections.
"Almost Certain" The Russians Attempted To Interfere With British Elections
The report is due to be published next week and the timing of this statement seems curious, coming now, after such a long period of silence by the British government.
Last week there was a furious response by Boris Johnson after MP Julian Lewis had the Tory Party whip removed when he was nominated as the new chief of the Intelligence and Security Committee.
Johnson had nominated another MP, Chris Grayling, to get the job. Grayling has held a number of government positions and is a loyal and staunch supporter of Boris Johnson. He is also known as "Failing Grayling" because of the number of botched jobs he has been responsible for in departments including Transport and Criminal Justice. His reforms of the Probation Service are now having to be undone at the cost of many millions of pounds, such was the horrible mess he made of things.
But it is known that, had he got the job at Intelligence and Security, he would have kept the report locked away and out of the public domain indefinitely.
Hence Number 10's fury. Johnson REALLY wanted Grayling in that post and after Lewis announced, immediately upon appointment, that he would release the report, Johnson immediately withdrew the party whip, in effect, purging him (Lewis) from the party.
Labour have repeatedly questioned whether there is any link between Russian donors to Tory party funds and possible interference in UK elections.
It is hoped that the report will clarify whether or not this happened, although it is expected that parts of it will be redacted on the grounds of "National Security".
The amount of redaction may be a factor in whether or not releasing the report finally makes this all die down, or whether it raises more questions than answers.
Watch this space.
Jul 21, 2020 @ 14:37:47
