Britain’s deputy prime minister warned on Sunday that the country’s upcoming general election was under threat from hostile elements such as Russia that seek to influence Britain’s democratic process.
The country will go to the polls on Thursday, after which the opposition Labour Party is expected to come to power by ousting the ruling right-wing Conservative Party.
His comments came after the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported it had detected five pages on Facebook spreading pro-Kremlin narratives.
Some of them have encouraged support for the far-right Reform UK party led by Brexit supporter Nigel Farage – which is posing a major challenge to the ruling Conservatives in Thursday’s vote.
“All elections carry risks, and indeed we’re seeing that in this election as well, where hostile state forces may seek to influence the outcome of an election campaign,” Oliver Dowden told Sky News.
“Russia is a prime example of this, and it’s a classic example of Russian policy”, he said, though he added that these examples are “relatively common, low-level things”.
Farage, a fan of former US President Donald Trump, dismissed claims that Russian robots could interfere in the election, using the British slang term “bullshit”.
He was criticized during the campaign for saying the West encouraged Russia to invade its neighbor, Ukraine.
Pollsters predict his anti-immigration party will contribute to a landslide victory for the centrist opposition Labour Party, taking votes away from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Tory Party.
Labour had a lead of more than 20 points throughout the election campaign, but Sunak insisted on Sunday that he would remain prime minister until Friday morning.
“I’m fighting very hard and I think people are realising the real threat a Labour government poses,” he told the BBC.
The Labour Party led by Keir Starmer got another boost on Sunday when the influential right-wing newspaper Sunday Times endorsed his party. Music sensation Elton John also announced that he is supporting Labour.
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