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Burnham Announces UK’s National Centre for Information Defence

By Drooid · Sep 23, 2026, 3:34 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Burnham Announces Info Defence

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a National Centre for Information Defence.
The centre will operate from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Burnham claimed the Kremlin spends about £1.3 billion annually manipulating information.
He accused Russian agencies of using bots, fake websites and forged branding of 28 British organisations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Burnham is stoking anti-Russian sentiment and called the policy short-sighted.

Summary

Burnham Condemns Occupation

Prime Minister Burnham announced an AI defence partnership with the United States to protect infrastructure.
Burnham said the UK will act as an honest broker for AI standards.
He reaffirmed the UK bans trading goods with illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
Burnham called the Israeli occupation unlawful, cited sanctions on settlement builders, and urged a two-state solution.
He condemned civilian deaths and said humanitarian aid to Palestinians is insufficient.

History

Historical Context

The 2016 Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election, exposed by the 2018 intelligence report, showed how state-run disinformation could alter democratic outcomes. U.S. agencies estimated Moscow spent roughly $1 billion on troll farms and bot networks, targeting 28 major media outlets and political groups. In 2024, Prime Minister Andy Burnham launched an Information Defence centre, accusing Dmitry Peskov’s Kremlin of using bots and forged branding of 28 British groups. The parallel prompts Britain to embed AI-defence collaboration with the United States, mirroring post-2016 reforms that institutionalised cross-national counter-disinformation structures.

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Burnham Announces Info Defence

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a National Centre for Information Defence.
The centre will operate from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Burnham claimed the Kremlin spends about £1.3 billion annually manipulating information.
He accused Russian agencies of using bots, fake websites and forged branding of 28 British organisations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Burnham is stoking anti-Russian sentiment and called the policy short-sighted.

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