UK Government response to alleged Russian elections interference upheld by ECHR
The UK Government’s response to alleged Russian interference in UK elections, including the 2019 general election, did not violate the right to free elections, a top European court has ruled.
Three former British MPs, Labour’s Sir Ben Bradshaw, Green Party’s Caroline Lucas, and SNP’s Alyn Smith, sought legal action against the UK Government’s response to allegations of Russia’s interference in the UK electoral system.
It was claimed that the government acted ‘unlawfully’ in 2019 when the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided not to arrange an independent investigation into the conclusions of reports by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) on Russia.
The 2020 report by the ISC concluded the UK is vulnerable to foreign interference, particularly from Russia, which has aimed to undermine democratic processes through online disinformation campaigns.
The former MPs applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after a similar claim was rejected by the High Court in London in late 2021, and the Court of Appeal rejected an application for permission to appeal.
The MPs are represented by Leigh Day partner Tessa Gregory and senior associate Tom Short.
The government was represented by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
ECHR arguments
The legal argument presented to the ECHR by the former politicians was that the UK had breached its obligations under Article 3 of Protocol 1, which secures the right to free and fair elections, and imposes a duty on governments to take active and positive steps to ensure that elections are conducted fairly.
However, on Tuesday morning, the ECHR declared the application admissible.
In the court’s view, the UK’s response to the threat of Russian election interference had not fallen outside its broad leeway in this area of law.
The court found that while there were initial shortcomings in the UK’s response, there had been two independent investigations, and the government has since implemented legislative and operational measures to counter disinformation and “protect the democratic integrity of the UK”.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was contacted for a comment.