Andy Burnham's intervention on Brexit has been described as a gift to Britain's enemies, who are said to exploit contentious issues to drive social division. The comments come as intelligence chiefs warn that Moscow and Tehran are seeking to weaponise community cohesion.
Information as a Weapon
In the era of social media, bot farms and contested facts, information is becoming a weapon of choice for Britain's adversaries. Russia and Iran are said to pick contentious issues and create propaganda campaigns targeting both sides, exaggerating and manipulating to exacerbate the fraying social fabric in the UK.
The goal, according to security experts, is to drive a wedge between different sections of society, leading to a collapse in confidence in the state. This context makes Mr Burnham's weekend intervention on Brexit, a vote that divided families and the nation in 2016, particularly astounding.
MI5 Warning on Opportunists
Sir Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, has warned that Moscow and Tehran will not need a second invitation to wreak havoc. He described the propagandists as "opportunists", not master strategists, despite their attempts to influence the 2016 vote.
The Prime Minister's political opponents have told this publication that Mr Burnham is "playing into their hands" precisely as they ramp up assassination, terror, kidnap and arson conspiracies in the UK. The timing could not be worse.
Cohesion Under Threat
One MP highlighted the Prime Minister's interview with The Rest Is Politics, where he said: "These things are important now to put clearly on the record, and I believe help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely, Russia."
This jars with Sir Ken's comments to reporters on Tuesday, where he said Russia tried to interfere in the vote but a distinction must be drawn between successful operations. The MI5 head repeatedly warned that community cohesion is something Britain's enemies are trying to weaponise. He said: "Our adversaries want to abuse our very freedoms to polarise us. Our cohesion counts."
As Russia and Iran ramp up operations in the UK, the Prime Minister would do well not to wrap a present for them by picking an issue that still casts a divisive shadow over British politics. Mr Burnham must not let party politics come before national security again, or the country may face an even more divided society.
