The long-awaited report into Russian influence in British politics could soon be cleared for publication, after Downing Street confirmed that MPs will vote on Monday on the establishment of a new Intelligence and Security Committee.
Boris Johnson has been widely accused of delaying the report’s publication ahead of last December’s election in order to avoid possible embarrassment over evidence of Moscow’s attempts to exert influence among senior Conservatives.
Unusually, the ISC has not sat in the seven months since the election, as Number 10 failed to approve list of MPs and peers nominated for membership. Unlike other Westminster committees, the ISC – which scrutinises the activities of security and intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 and government listening post GCHQ – reports not to parliament but to the prime minister, who must clear its reports for publication.
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Mr Johnson has already given the Russia report the green light, but it could not be made public so long as the committee was not sitting. The PM’s spokesman today said Mr Johnson would encourage the new committee to publish “as soon as possible”.
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