THREAD: I’m really quite uncomfortable with the tenor of today’s reporting about the supposed similarity between the leaked trade talk documents Labour revealed and Russian online intelligence tactics 1/
(Based on this report from Graphika: graphika.com/uploads/Graphi…) /2
1st, the Secondary Infektion case with which parallels have been drawn involved FALSE or MODIFIED materials being peddled online after a hack. I’ve seen no suggestions these documents were either (If they were, I’m sure by now the govt would be all over this) /3
2nd, even if Russian-linked sources were trying to hype the leak, this should hardly surprise us. The Kremlin seeks to exploit every opportunity to widen existing fault lines between and within Western societies /4
The real problem is that is coming out now, when the Tories are still struggling with the fallout from suppressing the ISC Russian influence report /5
+ that this is being used to suggest some Kremlin-Corbyn connection, eg the calls for him to “come clean” on where Labour got the report (it was circulating openly on the internet!) /6
I say this as someone with no enthusiasm for Corbin – he is one of the reasons I won’t be voting Labour this time /7
But rather, I don’t want to see UK go the same way as US, in which Russia policy is nothing to do with Russia and purely another ring for domestic political sparring and mudslinging. We deserve better in our politics + in govt policy /8
So my pious and sadly no doubt entirely vain hope is that we can try and get away from all the mutual innuendo about Russian influence. If there is any evidence, then trumpet that to the skies, but if not, best avoid it /9
Not, obviously, for the Kremlin's sake, but because it is corrosive for our politics (people mistrust politicians enough as is) and disruptive for our attempts to have rational policy debates as to what to do about Russia. Here ends my self-indulgent sermon... /END
