Brexit result 'not in dispute' despite PM's Russia meddling claim, MI5 chief says

The head of MI5 has said the result of the Brexit referendum "is not in dispute" after the prime minister said Russia had interfered in the 2016 vote. 

Sir Ken McCallum was speaking to broadcasters after he delivered an annual threat assessment on Tuesday.

Asked whether Russia had meddled in the Brexit campaign and - if it did - whether the interference had had an impact, the director general of the Security Service said: "As per what I think the prime minister said in the House of Commons yesterday, the Brexit referendum result is not in dispute.

"And as per the way you framed your question, there is a difference here between interference attempted and ... outcome achieved.

"And routinely today in 2026, we see attempts by the Russians and by others to sow division or more particularly to opportunistically exploit any divisions they perceive in UK public debate.

"And so we routinely see attempts by the Russians to sow that kind of dissension and division."

Sir Ken also pointed to a confirmed Russian attempt to meddle in the 2019 general election.

He then pointed to how, in the run-up to the Brexit referendum three years earlier, Russian state TV outlets such as Russia Today and Sputnik were broadcasting and publishing articles in favour of the UK leaving the European Union.

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"It is also a matter of public record that there was a certain amount of activity by so-called internet trolls and bot farms and so forth," he said.

"So that's not new news. This has been gone over before. The 2026 problem that my teams are focused on, with others, is dealing proportionately and professionally and calmly with the kinds of attempts we should expect to see to influence our national debate.

"And … we shouldn't all be kind of wobbled by attempts by our adversaries to sway us. It's up to us to respond in a calm, proportionate sort of British fashion. That's what national resilience kind of means."

(c) Sky News 2026: Brexit result 'not in dispute' despite PM's Russia meddling claim, MI5 chief says