Russia Report: British government rejects intelligence and security committee's call for independent enquiry into Russian influence on Brexit vote

The report said the reason why there was no evidence of Russian interference in the Brexit referendum because no one in the British government sought to identify the truth.

One of the recommendations included in the report was a call for an independent enquiry into the influence of Russia on the 2016 European Referendum.

However, the British government has rejected the need for an investigation.

"A retrospective assessment of the EU referendum is not necessary," said a Downing Street spokesperson.

The long awaited report did however accuse Russia of attempting to influence the outcome of the Scottish independence referendum in 2014.

No-one in Government wanted to touch the issue of Russian interference with a “10-foot pole”, Intelligence and Security Committee member Stewart Hosie said.

Speaking about the probe into alleged Russian interference in British democracy, Mr Hosie said that no-one in Government knew if Russia interfered or sought to influence the 2016 referendum “because they did not want to know”.

He told reporters: “There has been no assessment of Russian interference in the EU referendum and this goes back to nobody wanting to touch the issue with a 10-foot pole.

“This is in stark contrast to the US response to reported interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“There should have been an assessment of Russian interference in the EU referendum and there must now be one, and the public must be told the results of that assessment.”

Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy tweeted: “It is extraordinary that the Prime Minister took the political decision last October ahead of the General Election to block the publication of this important report that systematically goes through the threat Russia poses to the UK’s national security.

“The report is very clear that the Government has underestimated the response required to Russia and it is imperative we learn the lessons from the mistakes that have been made.

“The Labour Party calls on the Government to study the conclusions of the report carefully and take the necessary steps to keep our country safe.”

There was “no evidence” that Russia sought to influence the EU referendum, but only because the Government did not seek to find out if it had, ISC member Kevan Jones said.

Asked for the committee’s views on whether Russia did influence the 2016 referendum, Mr Jones told journalists on Tuesday: “There was no evidence that we saw.

“The reason why there was no evidence was because no one asked the work to be done.

“In terms of saying did Russia interfere in the EU referendum? We can’t say that because nobody really asked that either.”

He said “no one” in the Government “sought to look or ask the question that needed to be asked”.