I was seen as a bit of a crank on Russia - Ben Bradshawpublished at 20:16 British Summer Time 26 March 2018
National Security and Russia
House of Commons
Parliament
Labour's Ben Bradshaw says that when he first spoke in the House about potential Russian interference in democracies he was treated as "a bit of a crank".
He says he wants the government to take "seriously" the attention that is given by the Kremlin to think tanks and political establishments in the UK.
He says he wants information on how the government is responding to accusations that the Kremlin is seeking to infiltrate UK political parties and that some Russians based in London who pretend to be Putin opponents are not so.
He says that the government should investigate ties between Nigel Farage, Arron Banks, Jim Mellon and Russia. He tells MPs he was the first to raise concerns about Cambridge Analytica, and now the government is taking these concerns seriously.
He states that the delay between the Information Commissioner's Office seeking a warrant and the warrant being granted shows that the government does not have enough power in dealing with these kinds of cases.