Courtesy of L'Express France - Surkov & Putin Forging The Future
RUSSIAN SUBVERSION - STRATAGEMS & TACTICS
On 26 January 2021 Craig Unger, an American journalist, published a book entitled American Kompromat. In the book, Unger explains how Donald Trump was targeted by the KGB in 1977 and then cultivated as a KGB asset. Trump didn’t even know he had been recruited or that he was perceived by the KGB to be a Russian asset. The principal source of research for Unger's book was Yuri Borysovych Shvets, a former major in the KGB who has lived in the USA since 1993.
The Russians' strategy was to subtly surround Trump and his entourage by embedding ever increasing numbers of “active measures agents” and “agents of influence” amongst Trump’s key team members as Trump grew in power and stature. Obviously, the KGB (now the FSB) had no idea that one day Trump would become President, but their flexible plans could accommodate any twist or turn in his career as was proven. In hindsight the FSB dubbed Trump “the perfect target”.
Fast forward some four decades from when Trump was initially identified as a target and the Mueller Report (published on 18 April 2019) identified 272 connections between Russian-linked operatives and Trump’s entourage. However, Mueller did not dwell on these. As an article by the Guardian noted, Shvets was disappointed with the Mueller Report because it was only “an investigation of … crime-related issues”; it did not delve deeply into the “counter intelligence aspects of the relationship between Trump and Moscow”.
During and since the Cold War, Russia has targeted thousands of individuals all over the world whose profiles signalled that one day they might well be destined for high office, business success and/or political power. Over time, if these targets matured as expected, they would be skilfully surrounded with Russian “active measures agents” and “agents of influence” and subverted into Russian assets.
Most importantly, many of those subverted probably had no idea that Russia considered them to be their assets. From the perspective of Western intelligence this type of espionage was just as chilling as the placement of a Soviet spy in say the Pentagon. Why? Look at just how divided the USA and UK are today with hardly any shots being fired in anger and only a scintilla of laws being broken. Surkov, the Kremlin's grey cardinal, should author a thesis entitled "Espionage - no risks attached". Those involved as influencers on behalf of Putin's Russia rarely if ever break any laws in those jurisdictions they operate in.
Trump was not the only Russian target to become a political leader. David Cameron has admitted he was approached by the KGB on a visit to Russia before his political career spawned. Hard evidence of other British Prime Ministers and political party leaders being set up and/or influenced by Russia abounds. Much of that evidence came from a KGB Colonel, Oleg Gordievsky. Few escaped the focus or clutches of the KGB/FSB. Just think about Ted Heath and Anthony Blunt of the Cambridge Five, the Labour Party's Michael Foot (aka Agent Boot to the KGB) and about how the KGB controlled Harold Wilson and James Callaghan through the trade unionist Jack Jones. As for applying more traditional influencing measures, somehow even Margaret Thatcher was persuaded to appoint Norman Stone (see later) as a foreign policy adviser.
Turning to the present occupant of 10 Downing Street, Boris Johnson's team's Russian connections probably dwarf Trump's 272 Russian connections referred to above but for brevity's sake only sixty or so are named in this article. Of particular interest in that regard is Dominic Cummings who was Johnson’s chief adviser and whose most influential mentor and role model was none other than Norman Stone.
Astonishingly, on winning the landslide election in 2019, Boris Johnson didn't rush to his local pub or dash off to have a jolly traditional knees-up at a Tory Party "party". Instead, according to the Guardian, he scampered off to a party in Mayfair “hosted by former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny”.
Notwithstanding that Boris Johnson understandably preferred caviar and champagne to fish and chips with Newcastle Brown Ale, questions remain about the extraordinary extent to which those whom he encourages to surround him have Russian origins or leanings. So, is Boris Johnson unwittingly or otherwise a Russian asset or a Putin puppet? After all, he's not the first British Prime Minister to have that accusation levelled against him. The ensuing "alternative report" should help you answer that question. Do bear in mind that there is nothing illegal or unlawful in promoting Russian interests in the UK.
BORIS JOHNSON'S COVER-UP - NOVEMBER 2019
Early in November 2019, Boris Johnson was accused of ordering a cover-up as he postponed the publication of an overdue report by the UK's Intelligence & Security Committee (ISC) about Russian infiltration in British politics by Putin’s People (Russian “active measures agents” and “agents of influence”). The supposedly damning report may have made dismal reading so far as the Tory Party went but luckily for them Johnson made sure it wasn't released until over six months after the 2019 general election.
Accordingly, in the absence of the ISC Report in November 2019, we at Faire Sans Dire decided to publish this "Alternative Version" of the ISC Report in the public interest. Our findings, which are as relevant to life in 2021 as they were in 2019, appear to support the theory that just as Donald Trump was unwittingly a Russian asset, so was Boris Johnson when delivering Brexit. (For more on the ISC Report, which was released in July 2020, please see the updates at the end of this article.)
This "Alternative Version" is extremely limited in scope and is primarily focused on who might have influenced, directly or otherwise, either Boris Johnson and/or Dominic Cummings particularly in relation to Brexit. For the avoidance of doubt, influencing politicians and their advisers is perfectly legitimate, hence the growth of the political lobbying industry in the UK in the last few decades.
The irony is that Boris Johnson’s decision to postpone publication of the ISC Report played right into Putin’s hands and caused yet more divisiveness within the UK. Those heated divisions were even stoked up by Hillary Clinton’s intervention. Others such as The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Marina Litvinenko (widow of the former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko who was a friend of Yuri Shvets) tried to take but later abandoned legal action to challenge the delay in publishing the ISC Report. Meanwhile at the 5th Russian-British Business Forum on 27 November 2019 the new Russian ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, asserted that Russia had not interfered in British (or USA) politics.
THE ALTERNATIVE VERSION OF THE ISC REPORT - NOVEMBER 2019
Please note that all names of people and places listed in this alternative report which are without hyperlinks may be found either on Wikipedia and/or in this Brexit Uncovered Blog.
General Observations - Russian Influence
The Labour Party has little to fear as “reds under the beds” are now phantom phenomena given Russia has left many of its Soviet dogmas to die in a ditch. Nevertheless, Labour and particularly the UK Trade Unions remain of interest to Putin’s People but that is outside the scope of this article which is focused on Boris Johnson’s and Dominic Cummings’ Brexit machinations et al. In addition, although also out of scope, it has to be said that the West uses similar techniques to try and influence what goes on in Russia (and other countries).
Setting aside details of bot attacks and disinformation plants on the web, much of the absurd amount of influence Putin’s People are exerting over the Tory Party can be seen hiding in plain sight in the public domain. It is absurd because it is utterly disproportionate when compared with attempts to influence UK politics by the rest of the world. There is not anything illegal about most of it which makes it even harder to counter. Indeed, subversion, infiltration and influence are per se essential ingredients of democracy. So, let us examine what Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings may think they would prefer to remain hidden.
Over the last few years, as reported on extensively in the UK press, Johnson (and his crony Brexiteers) have received millions of pounds in donations from pro-Russian sources of all hues, some with deep-sunk ties to Vladimir Putin, others with none. Some of those donations can be easily checked by reference to the Register of Members’ Interests or records of The Electoral Commission. Exactly who decides who gets what is unknown, but Boris Johnson and his advisors are probably the final arbiters of that.
It is understandable that the intelligence services do not trust Boris Johnson any more than the Queen, his brother Jo Johnson MP, his ex-wives, ex-girlfriends and some of his past employers did. Why? As reported in October 2016 in the Daily Mail, MI6 confirmed that it saw Johnson as a security risk when he was Foreign Secretary and withheld information from him lest he “blurt it out”. As many in Johnson’s inner circle at the time were almost completely pro-Russian such precautions seemed wise. However, Johnson is Prime Minister now and the intelligence services face even more complex problems, similar to those faced by US intel when dealing with Donald Trump and his entourage until Joe Biden took office. (It should be noted that issues still remain in the USA regarding Trump because past presidents traditionally receive intelligence briefings.)
In fact, never in the history of Great Britain has any Prime Minister’s influential inner circle been so choc a bloc with unremitting devotees of any other nation. Under that sort of persuasive pressure, it is not surprising that Boris Johnson himself probably suffers from a strain of Russophilia! His adulatory attitude to all things Russian is omnipresent despite his occasional sideswipes at Putin’s “managed democracy” theory, more appropriately named dictatorship.
Boris Johnson & Dominic Cummings – Inner Circles (Over The Decades)
Boris Johnson’s inner circle in 2019 included Stanley Johnson (his father, a known Russophile), Carrie Symonds (his partner and known Russophile), Sir Lynton Crosby (known as "The Lizard of Oz") of CTF Partners (the PM’s longstanding advisor de facto now running the Tory Election Campaign), Dominic Cummings (his then Chief Special Advisor and known Russophile), Alexander Temerko (his oligarch buddy and owner of Aquind Limited) and all their Russophile family members and friends.
Put another way, isn’t that peculiar? Most notable UK citizens could tot-up how many Russians and Russophiles they know on one hand at most, but Boris Johnson’s inner and outer circles over the decades contained dozens of them. Some of those may not be pro-Putin. They may even be anti-Putin like Alexander Temerko and Alexander Lebedev profess to be. Nonetheless, they still have or have had strong ties with Russia or the USSR.
Not dissimilarly, Dominic Cummings’ inner circle has been stuffed with Russophiles since his Oxford University days. When at Oxford University in the early nineties his larger-than-life tutor Norman Stone and Norman's wife Christine of BHHRG infamy were apparently major agents of influence over his thinking. Maybe with the benefit of hindsight Cummings would have liked to have listed Vladislav Surkov as a confidant in the nineties too!
We jest of course but there are allegations swirling around in the media that between 1994/97 Cummings met Surkov, later to become the “grey cardinal” of the Kremlin. If Cummings had met Surkov, it may have been when Surkov was ostensibly working directly for Mikhail Khodorkovsky, allegedly as a bodyguard. However, it is more likely that Cummings met Surkov when the latter was a junior advertising executive in Bank Menatep.
Menatep was founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky and had a colourful history of alleged involvement in money laundering scandals in the nineties. It is unlikely that if any Cummings/Surkov meetings took place they were “consequential” from an intel standpoint, but we do not know for sure if Cummings and Surkov actually met and, if they did, whether they established any sort of rapport. If there was rapport and they met subsequently, whether directly or through intermediaries, that is a different kettle of piranha.
The combo of Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings being surrounded by Russophiles and Russians must have been a huge headache for the Five Eyes. We (Faire Sans Dire) dredged through thousands of press articles and other data in the public domain over recent years and produced a lengthy “List of People” who were either friends of, had worked with, had financial or other relations with, were known to and/or had met Johnson and/or Cummings. We then whittled the list down to try and include only those who might have had some influence over what Johnson and/or Cummings might think or do. What was left over is interesting.
Needless to say, influencing others is not illegal and being pro-Russia, of Russian descent or being a Russophile and/or having influence over UK politicians is not a crime just as being British is not a crime in Russia.
Is it a coincidence that there are so many Russians in the list of people set out below who have allegedly known or had connections of one sort or another with Boris Johnson and/or Dominic Cummings? Even though the sheer extent of this pro-Russian influence was not referred to in the ISC Report when it was eventually published, it is not surprising Johnson did not want that report released before the 2019 general election.
The “List of People” that ensues contains dozens of names we found of interest, but it does not imply any of them have committed any crimes, breached any laws or done anything wrong. Furthermore, just because those named have interests in Russia and/or are of Russian origin and/or are Russophiles does not mean they have or have had links with Vladimir Putin's government, the KGB, the FSB and/or other Russian governmental bodies or agencies.
Many on the list know or knew each other well and a lot of them have appeared on Russian TV or radio stations (such as Russia 1, RT International (Russia Today) or Sputnik) and/or authored articles published on the web by various arms of Putin’s Russian propaganda machinery. Those referred to as MPs or MEPs may not necessarily still hold those offices. Some brief descriptions of each person listed are given for disambiguation purposes.
Influential People
Aleksandr Torshin (Russian Banker) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Alexander Knaster (US [Russian] Philanthropist) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Alexander Lebedev (Russian Oligarch) (Known to Vladimir Putin but see * below)
Alexander Temerko (Russian Oligarch) (Known to Vladimir Putin but see # below)
Alisher Usmanov (Russian Oligarch) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Andrei Borodin (Russian Banker) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Andrew Rosindell MP (European Foundation) (Conservative Friends of Russia) (Legatum)
Andrew Wigmore (Leave.EU) (One of The Bad Boys of Brexit)
Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP (European Research Group) (Vote Leave)
Arron Banks (Leave.EU) (One of The Bad Boys of Brexit)
Bernard Sunley (Deceased Businessman) (BHHRG)
Bill Cash MP (European Foundation) (Maastricht Rebellion)
Carl Thompson (Conservative Friends of Russia)
Carrie Symonds (Boris Johnson’s Partner) (Conservative Friends of Russia)
Christine Stone (BHHRG)
Christopher Chandler (Legatum Group) (Sovereign Capital)
Daniel Hannan MEP (European Research Group) (Vote Leave)
Darius Guppy (Fraudster) (Piers Gaveston Society) (The Bullingdon Club)
Dimitro Firtash (Firtash Foundation) (British Ukrainian Society)
Douglas Carswell MP (Vote Leave) (European Research Group)
Elizabeth Bilney (Leave.EU) (Arron Banks' Co-director)
Evgeny Lebedev (Newspaper Owner) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Gavin Williamson MP (Sacked for Leaks from The National Security Council)
Gisela Stuart MP (Vote Leave) (Labour Party)
Gottfried Leopold von Bismarck (Deceased Junkie) (Piers Gaveston Society) (The Bullingdon Club)
Harry Cole (Guido Fawkes Blog) (Conservative Friends of Russia)
Humphry Wakefield (Cummings’ Father-in-law)
Jack Wakefield (Cummings’ Brother-in-law) (Firtash Foundation)
Jag Singh (Conservative Friends of Russia) (WESS Digital)
James Wharton MP (Johnson for PM Campaign Manager) (Aquind Limited)
John Laughland (Institute of Democracy and Cooperation) (Conservative Friends of Russia)
John Whittingdale MP (Conservative Friends of Russia) (European Research Group)
Joseph Mifsud (Maltese Academic and Influencer) (As in Mueller Report)
Lubov Chernukhin (Wife of Vladimir Chernukhin) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Ludmilla Laughland (Centre for The Study of Interventionism)
Lynton Crosby (CTF Partners) (Lobbyist) (Dead Cat Theory) (The Lizard of Oz)
Malcolm Rifkind MP (Ex Intelligence and Security Committee) (Valdai Club Contributor)
Mark Almond (Conservative Friends of Russia) (BHHRG)
Martin Callanan MEP (Aquind Limited) (House of Lords)
Mary Wakefield (Cummings’ Wife) (Spectator)
Matthew Elliott (Conservative Friends of Russia) (Vote Leave) (WESS Digital)
Maxim Akimov (Russian Deputy Prime Minister) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Michael Gove MP (Brexiteer) (Duchy of Lancaster) (European Research Group)
Mikhail Khodorkovsky (Russian Oligarch) (Bank Menatep) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Nat Rothschild (Swiss Banker) (Oleg Deripaska’s RUSAL)
Nigel Farage MEP (One of The Bad Boys of Brexit)
Norman Stone (Deceased) (Conservative Friends of Russia) (BHHRG)
Owen Matthews (Author) (Russian Expert)
Paul Staines (Guido Fawkes Owner) (WESS Digital)
Richard Tice MEP (One of The Bad Boys of Brexit) (Leave.EU)
Robin Lane Fox (Historian) (Oxford Professor)
Rodney Leach (Deceased Politician) (House of Lords)
Sergei Morozov (Russian Politician) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Sergey Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Sergey Nalobin (Russian Diplomat and Agent) (Conservative Friends of Russia)
Shanker Singham (Legatum Group) (Brexiteer)
Stanley Johnson MEP (Boris Johnson’s Father)
Vladimir Chernhukhin (Russian Oligarch) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
Vladislav Surkov (Russian Political Puppeteer) (Known to Vladimir Putin)
If anyone objects to being named in this article or to any references herein, they are encouraged to contact Bill Fairclough via FaireSansDire.org or LinkedIn to request that any references etc be modified or removed. In that regard, of late, Putin and co have been referring to newsworthy articles such as this about the ISC Report as media hysteria so maybe this article is just hysterical. In addition, 10 Downing Street apparently dismissed this and other relevant articles about the ISC Report as “Bermuda triangle stuff” so maybe, apart from being hysterical, this article is also feeding a conspiracy theory and/or superstition.
However, it is worth noting what did and didn’t happen on the evening after the General Election results were announced early on Friday 13 December 2019. During that historic evening, the British People’s Prime Minister with girlfriend in tow attended a party, not with his supporters in an English pub, but at the Mayfair mansion of Russian media mogul Evgeny Lebedev. Needless to say, many other notable Tories were present including David and Samantha Cameron albeit it is of note that Evgeny Lebedev has never been a donor to the Tory Party and was not named in the ISC Report.
Influential Organisations
For years, the Tory Party has been cosying up and flirting or worse with Putin’s propagandists, soft power brokers and even members of Putin’s security services. A quick look to see what cash donations and (non-repayable) interest free loans et al have been proffered to Tory politicians from those with Russian ties yields astounding results. Such donations from pro-Russians to the Tory Party or organisations run by its key members total millions of pounds in recent years. We could find no other grouping by country or ideology that had donated directly or otherwise anywhere near that amount to any political party in the history of Great Britain.
A search of the Register of Members' Financial Interests is illuminating. Names such as Aquind (owned by Alexander Temerko) or J C Bamford Excavators Ltd (JCB) and its owner Anthony Bamford appear frequently. JCB has significant interests in Russia which is one of the fastest growing markets for construction equipment with 28% growth in 2018 cited in JCB’s audited financial statements. At least donations et al from the likes of JCB, CTF Partners, Temerko and Aquind are disclosed.
#Interestingly, the BBC reported on 19 November 2019 that Alexander Temerko said the ISC Report should be published "for democracy reasons". Temerko told the BBC that he had "never" been considered a "friend" of the Kremlin or of Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he was "against [the] Kremlin" having fled Russia circa 15 years ago.#
*In addition, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on 20 November 2019 that Alexander Lebedev (ex KGB but Kremlin critic) wanted the ISC Report published sooner than later. Alexander Lebedev emphasised to the AFP that he had never made a donation to the Tory Party and as for Boris Johnson he said: "I know Johnson, no more than that, I am not his friend".*
But who knows whether donations from other sources not mentioned in this article actually stem from whence they are said to have come? For example, a Swiss Bank’s UK subsidiary may be named as a donor because it has paid for a Flash Harry politician to speak at one of its conferences but is the bank in question just a front and somehow being reimbursed by a pro-Putin client? Most likely, no one will ever know.
Indeed, after so many financial scandals involving UK politicians, how can we trust all of them to even bother to disclose all the donations they receive or all the services they get directly or otherwise (for example via an organisation they are connected with) which aren’t charged for, such as the rent-free use of premises?
In that regard, as noted in Wired, the Kremlin is known to be at the cutting edge of crypto-currency activities yet if you search the Register of Members’ Financial Interests for Bitcoin or other crypto-currencies, unsurprisingly nothing shows up. Once again, most likely, no one will ever know the full extent of any such payments or under the carpet support through the provision of unquantifiable services and other soft “benefits in kind”.
As for the ISC Report itself, there wasn't even any mention of any pro-Russian organisations such as: the defunct British Helsinki Human Rights Group (the BHHRG); the Conservative Friends of Russia now known as the Westminster Russia Forum; and the Legatum Institute or the Legatum Group. Maybe that's because, as we would have expected, they had not broken any laws.
Then there are the oligarchs’ corporate endeavours such as Alexander Temerko’s Offshore Group Newcastle Limited (OGN) and Aquind which he controlled through companies in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). In addition to Alexander Temerko’s personal donations to the Tory Party, his companies made donations too. For example, OGN donated £249,450 to the Conservative Party in the year ended 30 June 2015 notwithstanding it made a post-tax loss for that year of £25,000.
Prior to its liquidation OGN was owned at various times by Yoli Holdings Limited (Cyprus), Equity Trust (BVI) Limited and OGN Investment Partners Limited (BVI). Aquind has been owned by various companies in the BVI according to its statutory accounts from 30 June 2009 to 30 September 2018. Aquind’s BVI owners since 2009 have included OGN Enterprises Limited, TMF (BVI) Limited and Equity Trust (BVI) Limited.
Deloitte LLP have been Aquind’s auditors since 2013. Pursuant to an Enforcement Action by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, on 4 August 2015 the Commission imposed an administrative penalty of $60,000 on TMF (BVI) Limited for contraventions of various sections of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Code of Practice, 2008 as evidenced by this record.
Dominic Cummings’ Profiles
As for Dominic Cummings himself, there is an irritating quote from his profile on the ConservativeHome website that reads:
“On leaving university his adventurousness found its first outlet in going to Russia for three years. He helped set up a new airline flying from Samara, on the Volga, to Vienna. The KGB issued threats, the airline only got one passenger, and the pilot unfortunately took off without that passenger. Cummings is a Russophile, speaks Russian and … .”
This quotation relates to Dominic Cummings’ activities in 1994/97 and is in line with most other summaries of his life and times. However, other than confirming he is a Russophile, it makes no sense, and his recollections appear to be somewhat blurred. Put bluntly, it is basically hogwash.
The airline referred to is Samara Airline. Cummings did not set it up because it had been established in 1961 as Aeroflot, changed its name to Samara Airline in 1992 and was floated/nationalised in 1993 (allegedly with a little help from organised crime) all before Cummings set foot in Russia. Cummings appears to have been no more than a consultative clerk working in the back office of a US consultancy firm helping establish a new flight path for Samara Airline but that was about it.
Allegedly, when overseas during 1994/97 he only ever worked for a US consultancy outfit (Dixon, Morozov, Inc – a Delaware Corporation No. 2317145) which was based in Vienna not Russia. When not on training courses, he spent most of his time in Vienna working as a trainee or junior consultant reviewing Samara Airline’s book-keeping/administrative procedures such as the airline’s reservations systems. Also, as the KGB was closed down in 1991, his memories of them in 1994/97 must have been really confused or was it all a drunken dream!
Finally, concerning the inaccuracy of Dominic Cummings’ profile, according to the London Times, Adam Dixon (Cummings’ boss) doubted Cummings had been recruited “as a future intelligence asset” in 1994/97. Dixon, most curiously ex Chatham House, whose involvement with Dixon, Morozov, Inc does not feature in his Zoominfo Profile, is quoted as saying of Cummings that “He definitely drank too much and was obstinate …”. In the world of smoke and mirrors, a denial is allegedly as good as an affirmation.
As for Cummings’ command of the Russian language, Dixon apparently said his language skills were “poor”. Thus, almost all of what is written about Dominic Cummings’ activities etc in 1994/97 as described by ConservativeHome seems to be a load of hogwash. Others who were allegedly acquainted with Cummings in Russia in 1994/97 included Denis Smyslov (a Russian with links to the elitist nursery for Russian intelligence agents (whose alumni include Sergei Lavrov) then known as the Foreign Relations Institute, now the MGIMO (МГИМО)) and Sergey Samokhin (a Russian businessman linked to Samara Airlines). They both apparently reckoned Cummings was too frequently drunk to be an intelligence asset; mind you, that's good cover for wannabe sleeper agents or liabilities ... with hangovers.
Given Dominic Cummings' relationship with Norman Stone, his interest in Russia and that he visited Russia after graduating from Oxford University, the chances of his not being targeted by the FSB when on Russian soil would seem to be negligible. The issue is, was he influenced by the FSB after the initial targeting? If the FSB could manipulate the 45th President of the USA, manipulating Cummings should have been a doddle.
Conclusion
As Alex Younger (current MI6 Chief) said in December 2016, “It's not MI6's job to warn of internal threats”. Presumably, he was referring to Brexit and people connected therewith. Furthermore, it may well have been a shot across GCHQ’s or MI5’s bows.
If anyone wanted Brexit done and dusted it was Vladimir Putin. In one blow Brexit would weaken the EU, the UK, NATO and the broader US/UK/EU alliance and it would not cost him dearly if at all in the grand scheme of all things Russian. As Eliza Manningham-Buller (Director General of MI5 – 2002/07) said in January 2019, “I am pretty queasy that Russian President Vladimir Putin is so in favour of Brexit – I think that should give us all pause."
Putin won't have finished with Brexit yet as its aftermath will have political repercussions in both the EU and UK and in particular on the island of Ireland for many lustra. Given Putin's track record in pouring gasoline on infernos and influencing both Johnson and Farage, he will doubtless be hedging his bets again on not dissimilar divisive issues in the future.
Bill Fairclough (FaireSansDire.org) 6 November 2019
UPDATES & THE REAL ISC REPORT - JULY 2020
This report has been updated several times since it was first published on 6 November 2019. It was to have been updated after the ISC Report was released, but as the ISC Report contained no meaningful relevant research, there was no update then. The ISC Report was published in July 2020 but contained extraordinarily little "new" relevant information. A few of those referred to in our report were mentioned in the ISC Report (mainly in the notes) but the ISC confirmed that they had not set out to name names.
The ISC found no evidence that Russian interference had affected the Brexit referendum although they confirmed what this report spells out: there was substantial evidence of recurring Russian interference in British politics. However, the ISC also found evidence that the 2014 Scottish independence referendum had been interfered with by Russian agents.
The ISC stated that HMG had not authorized any investigation into Russian interference in British politics (including the Brexit referendum) due to the fact that any such attempt would have been outside the purview of HMG's intelligence services. Why? Any such actions by the intelligence services themselves could been seen as interference per se, thereby undermining democracy itself. Thus, it is fair to conclude that the ISC Report constituted a very thorough whitewash if ever there was one. The ISC Report and many related articles of interest may be accessed via this web link.
RELATED FAIRE SANS DIRE POSTS & ARTICLES
http://bit.ly/DominicCummingsRussophileIssues
http://bit.ly/UKSubversion2019
http://bit.ly/WhereWasCummings
POST-SCRIPT
For the less discerning members of the Press who have purloined parts of this Alternative Report without crediting Faire Sans Dire, they will be pleased to know that they failed to spot a benign piece of disinformation intentionally buried herein.
#Agents #BeyondEnkription #BillFairclough #BritishIntelligence #CIA #Cyber #DCS #DueDiligence #Espionage #FaireSansDire #FBI #Forensics #FSB #GCHQ #GRU #Infiltration #Intelligence #Investigations #KGB #Lobbying #MI1 #MI5 #MI6 #NATO #NSA #Police #Risk #Screening #Security #Spies #Spooks #Subversion #Surveillance #SVR #TheBurlingtonFiles #Vetting
This article was first published on 21 July 2021.