Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of attempts by foreign state actors to influence UK political discourse during and after the 2016 EU Referendum.

It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect the UK against foreign interference. The Government is clear that any interference in our democracy is unacceptable.

The Government has taken steps to strengthen our resilience to foreign interference. This includes the updated guidance published by the National Protective Security Authority on 13 October, the Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan which I set out in Parliament on 18 November. The National Security Act 2023, including the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme and its enhanced tier, give law enforcement and the intelligence services the powers they need to disrupt the full range of state threat activity.

This government will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect UK democracy.