Jeremy Corbyn is using a leaked British government document to argue that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is about to sell the United Kingdom’s health service to President Trump. But who was able to access that classified material and then leak it?
Perhaps it was Vladimir Putin or, more specifically, one of Russia’s intelligence services or cutouts acting in pursuit of affecting the outcome of Britain’s upcoming election on Dec. 12.
Consider a new report by the Graphika security firm. It explains how a British trade framework for post-Brexit dealings with the United States was suspiciously released online in October, then publicized by Corbyn in late November. But Graphika’s key assessments on when, how, and with what amplification the report was released are striking. Graphika’s conclusion says, “First, the operation could have been run by the same Russian operators who ran Secondary Infektion. Second, it could have been run by unknown operators who wanted to look like Secondary Infektion for unknown reasons.”
Matching to the fact that the document was held on secured British government servers, we have at least some further indication that an organized state actor, or a skilled hacker or hackers, decided to root out the document in order to oppose Boris Johnson’s government. This was not some kid in a basement.
Context also adds weight to Russian culpability here.
Jeremy Corbyn is regarded by Moscow as a dream candidate. Corbyn is deeply skeptical of NATO, has spent his life opposing U.S. foreign policy, and would seriously damage the special relationship if elected. Moreover, he has shown repeated personal and professional sympathy for Russian agents and operations. The same is true of Corbyn’s closest allies. During the Cold War, one of Corbyn’s top aides, Seumas Milne, even ran the business operations for a pro-Soviet newspaper.
In short, Russia has good reason to see Corbyn triumph over Johnson.
Where does this leave us? With more questions than answers, but interesting questions nonetheless. Did Russia just hack another election?
