UK PM Andy Burnham DENIES Russia's Role In Brexit In Parliament, Says I Implied No Such Thing

UK PM Andy Burnham suggested he never claimed Russia had 'swung the Brexit vote - after appearing to do the exact opposite - during a heated session of the House of Commons on Monday. "Over the weekend, on the Rest Is Politics podcast, he implied that the referendum result was illegitimate because of Russian interference," his opposition counterpart Kemi Badenoch put to him. "Where has this come from? We all remember in 2018, the head of MI5 said that there was no evidence that Russia had influenced the EU referendum result. Even this morning, his own foreign minister could not say if the evidence existed." "So will he confirm here and now whether he believes the referendum result was legitimate, and if not, will he publish the evidence that Russia swung the result of the 2016 referendum? From my perspective, Mr. Speaker, this is just another example of him trying to distract the country rather than solve the immediate challenges," she said. Burnham hit back: "Can I just address the point that she said. I implied no such thing in my comments on the Rest Is Politics podcast. I think she should go back and look again. It is a matter of record, Mr. Speaker, that Russian actors sought to interfere in the 2019 general election, and we think it is inconceivable that this was the first time." Recently, he told the UK podcast: "I asked the question coming to Downing Street: was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia? And I've had the clear answer that yes, there was." He did not provide any evidence to back his claims - or say whether any alleged 'meddling' had even changed the outcome - and Russia has not commented on the speculation.