Johnson urges publication of the report on Russian involvement in British politics

The 50-page report by the Parliament's Commission for Intelligence and Security (ISC) analyzes Russia's activities, including possible intervention in the 2016 Brex referendum, when 52 percent of Britons voted to leave the EU.

But this commission was distributed due to last Thursday's parliamentary elections and the report cannot be released until it is reassessed, which may last several weeks. Commission members are elected by the prime minister and opposition leader from the Liberals, who is then voted into parliament.

The committee launched the investigation in November 2017 and sent the report to the prime minister in mid-October of this year, said former head of the body, Dominic Grays.

In early November, the government was criticised for refusing to issue the report before the December 12th elections, citing national security interests.

However, a spokesman for Boris Johnson said today that the publication of the report “would not harm organisations protecting our national security”.

The ISC investigation was in response to concerns about Russia's intervention in the U.S. elections for 2016 and the impact of dezinform campaigns by Russia.

Also mentioned is the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Scripal in the British city of Salisbury, which London attributes to Moscow. Russia has denied any involvement, but the issue has led to a wave of expulsion of London diplomats and its allies from Moscow.

Johnson has been criticised for blocking the Intelligence and Security Committee's report before the general elections, and the head of this committee, Dominic Greev, called the decision Prime Minister “Benevolent”.

“If he did that now, he could have done it before the elections were announced,” said Griev for Independent.

The British newspaper notes that this report cannot be published prior to the appointment of a new Committee for Intelligence and Security and is not expected to appear before January.