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Written question asked by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Tuesday, 29 October 2019, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 12 November 2019. It was answered by Earl Howe (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 November 2019 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

General Elections: Subversion

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken since the 2017 General Election to prevent (1) Russian, (2) Chinese, and (3) United States, interference in future UK general elections.

Answer

The Government takes the integrity of our electoral processes extremely seriously and we are working across Government to strengthen our electoral system and defend it from interference. There is no evidence of successful foreign interventions in our elections.

In July 2019, the Cabinet Office announced the creation of the Defending Democracy programme, which has been set up to pull together existing work and expertise in this area from right across Government.

The Defending Democracy programme has been set up by the Government in order to protect and secure UK democratic processes, systems and institutions from interference including from cyber, personnel and physical threats; to strengthen the integrity of UK elections; to encourage respect for open, fair and safe democratic participation; and to promote fact-based and open discourse, including online.

The Cabinet Office has announced a range of measures to better safeguard UK elections by cracking down on intimidation, interference and disinformation. This includes commitments to launch a consultation on electoral integrity and implement a digital imprints regime for online election material.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL526
Session
2019-19
Subjects
China General elections USA Russia Subversion
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk