Legal challenge to force UK government to release Russia report

It seems that the report on the alleged Russian interference in British politics is so embarrassing that the UK government prefers to tolerate the mounting criticism and pressure from within and without rather than publish it.

Although the government said earlier this week that the 50-page report would not be published ahead of the December general election, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism,  (TBIJ), a media and non-profit organization, has launched legal action aimed at forcing the government to release the report.

TBIJ has written to Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, demanding the publication of the report on alleged Russian interference in the UK’s 2016 Brexit vote.

“We believe there is an urgent public interest in releasing the report before the general election so citizens across the UK have access to the facts”.

The letter makes clear that if he fails to release it, lawyers have been instructed to challenge that decision by way of an urgent application for judicial review.

The report had been compiled by Parliament’s cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which relies on the UK’s three core intelligence agencies, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, for its information and assessments.

Its contents are believed to detail possible efforts by Russia to subvert British elections and interfere in UK politics, it is also said to include an examination of the closeness of certain oligarchs to the Conservative party.

The ISC’s report had been cleared for open publication and passed to No 10 for approval but has been blocked until after the election. The office of the Prime Minister insists the report is still awaiting security service approval and cites the fact that it needs more time to study the report as a reason for the delay.

This is while, the chairman of the ISC and independent candidate for Beaconsfield, Dominic Grieve, QC, told Parliament that the report had been approved for publication by both the security services and the Cabinet Office before October 17, and had been sent to No 10 for the final sign-off by that date.

The government’s move is fuelling suspicions that the details could be damaging for the ruling Conservative party and this is making Britons ever more eager to bring that information to light.

At the time of writing, the petition had collected almost £21,030 out of its £10,000 target in a matter of a few hours, with 29 days still to go.

It proves that before heading back to the polls, the British people want to know whether the previous election was fair and free of outside interference, and what exactly it is they are selling when they let the Russians buy so much of the UK.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk