Sir Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, confirmed on Tuesday that Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 Brexit referendum but said the result "is not in dispute" and warned politicians against making the Kremlin's trolls "look 10ft tall", after Andy Burnham said he had received a "clear answer" that Moscow had meddled. Downing Street said the prime minister will host Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday with a promise of faster air-defence missile deliveries, Argentina took its Falklands oil dispute with Britain to an international tribunal, and Nigel Farage disowned Robert Jenrick's "lethal force" remark on the day a YouGov poll put Reform UK in third place. This is UKFCP's 24 hours in politics round-up.
Burnham's government is three months old, having named its cabinet in July, and John Healey delivers its first Budget on 28 October. The prime minister's decision to reopen the Brexit question has already prompted Labour MPs to argue for rejoining the EU in a Westminster Hall debate.
McCallum confirms interference but says Brexit result stands
McCallum used his annual threat speech at Thames House to say Russia had tried to influence the referendum through social media and television reports, but that attempted interference did not mean the outcome was swayed. "I am a little bit anxious that we don't play into our adversaries' hands by making these trolls look 10ft tall," he said, according to the Guardian. ITV News reported he said Russian trolls would be "delighted" if the furore continued.
The remarks followed Burnham's comments on The Rest Is Politics podcast and his statement to MPs on Monday that Russia had also sought to intervene in the 2019 election. Farage called the prime minister "a liar" in Dover on Monday, Politics.co.uk reported, and shadow communities secretary Katie Lam accused him of peddling "conspiracy theories". Outlets split on the meaning of McCallum's intervention: the Guardian said he endorsed Burnham, while HuffPost UK and Guido Fawkes described a slapdown.
Burnham to host Zelensky with faster missiles and new sanctions
Burnham will receive Zelensky at Downing Street on Wednesday and set out further sanctions on Russia, the BBC reported, with deliveries of air-defence missiles to Ukraine accelerated. Healey will use the IMF meetings to press for a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas. "Russian aggression cannot be allowed to succeed on our continent," Burnham said, according to the BBC.
The visit follows a US deal to buy Russian diesel, which Zelensky called a "gift" to Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump's subsequent call for new Ukrainian leadership. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described a "very difficult few days" for UK-US relations, the BBC reported. The New York Times said 12 US senators from both parties urged Trump to reverse the deal.
Argentina takes Falklands oil row to maritime tribunal
Argentina asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on Tuesday for provisional measures to halt the Sea Lion oil project off the Falklands, AP and Reuters reported, two weeks after a deadline set by President Javier Milei expired. Foreign Office minister Uma Kumaran said Argentina was using "measures beyond its jurisdiction" as economic coercion, according to AP.
The Telegraph reported that Miliband has approved the Sea Lion development, which it said holds up to 1.7bn barrels, and that the government will bring forward secondary legislation to protect investors. The Independent reported British troops are training to "recapture" the islands. The tribunal could take up to eight weeks to rule, the Telegraph said.
Farage disowns Jenrick as Reform slips to third
Farage told LBC that Jenrick's claim that a Reform government would let the Royal Marines use lethal force in the Channel had been "utterly misconstrued". "Anybody wearing British military uniform who gets fired at has the right to respond. That's what he was saying," he said, according to the Guardian. Home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf also watered down a similar pledge he made last week, HuffPost UK reported.
Defence readiness minister Luke Pollard called the remark "disgusting and illegal", the Mirror reported. YouGov put Reform on 21 per cent, two points behind the Conservatives, which HuffPost UK said was the party's first third-place showing in two years. YouGov cautioned that the changes were "within the margin of error", Guido Fawkes reported. Yusuf separately said Jenrick and Suella Braverman should "take responsibility" for the last Conservative government's immigration record, according to Politics.co.uk.
Also in the last 24 hours
- Sir Ed Davey remained Liberal Democrat leader after a marathon meeting of MPs on Tuesday evening at which no confidence vote took place, PA reported; deputy leader Daisy Cooper said there was "overwhelming support for Ed".
- The IMF raised its 2026 UK growth forecast to 1.3 per cent but expects it to ease to 1.2 per cent next year on higher energy costs, according to PA; its economic counsellor told Healey to "stay the course".
- Treasury sources told the Financial Times that Healey will not equalise capital gains tax with income tax in the Budget, Guido Fawkes and Novara Media reported.
- About 650 prisoners were freed on Monday in the second phase of the early-release scheme, LBC reported, with the BBC saying the tranche covers sentences of up to two and a half years.
- The Welsh Government and Welsh Labour ended a three-month budget deadlock with an extra £60m for additional learning needs; First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said it showed "what can be achieved when parties across the Senedd work together".
- McCallum also warned that AI is "supercharging" threats including bioweapons, Sky News reported, and the Guardian said he described anti-migrant extremists as increasingly likely to consider attacks on asylum hotels.
- Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock told la Repubblica it was "obvious" Burnham hoped to take Britain back into the EU.
Zelensky's meeting with Burnham on Wednesday is the next fixed point in the diary, followed by Healey's Budget on 28 October.
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