European Ruling on Russian Interference Creates More Questions Than Answers

Judges recently ruled that the UK Government had not breached its obligation to properly investigate Moscow’s attempts to meddle in Brexit. Is this the end of the line for the campaigners who brought the case? Josiah Mortimer reports

A group of former MPs is considering appealing a landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that found the UK Government had not failed to investigate Russian interference in British politics.

Former Labour, Green, and SNP MPs Ben Bradshaw, Caroline Lucas, and Alyn Smith brought a case to the ECHR arguing that Russia has engaged in “weaponising disinformation”, cyber-attacks, “hack and leak” operations, and the use of “cyber troops” and “troll farms” to manipulate public discourse and interfere with democratic processes in the UK and across Europe.

They argued there was no public body with the legal responsibility to prevent foreign interference in UK elections, no legal obligation for online political adverts to indicate who had paid for them (this has since changed), no legal requirement for social media companies to cooperate with security and intelligence agencies, no clear-cut ban on foreign donations to political parties, and no obligation on foreign state agents to register (this has also since changed).