One of my enduring fascinations with Russia and the Soviet Union has been the secret world of espionage. Poisoned umbrella tips, dead drops, spy swaps across Cold War frontiers and, most recently, the use of lethal nerve agents against GRU double-agents are always more interesting when they belong to the real world, rather than a Len Deighton or an Ian Fleming novel.
With that in mind, last week was more interesting than usual for anyone interested in the murky world of Russian spies and spying. After months of waiting, speculation and anticipation, the long awaited Russia Report was finally published by the powerful Intelligence and Security Committee. It had been ready for publication since October 2019, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson had, for reasons which are maybe clearer than before, prevented it from seeing the light of day.
There was some last-minute drama, as Johnson's preferred candidate for the committee chair (Chris 'Failing' Grayling) was out-manoeuvred by his Conservative rival, Julian Lewis. And so, finally, the report was published.
There were no smoking guns, no dramatic descriptions of plots foiled, no sleepers identified. Rather, the talk was all about what hadn't happened. Namely that successive Conservative governments under David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson had actively ignored the possibilities of Russian involvement in recent British elections - particularly the Brexit referendum of 2016. Incredibly, they had actively decided not to investigate! Immediately, there were demands for an independent investigation into possible Russian involvement. And, there was an immediate refusal for such an investigation from Boris Johnson.
So, the truth of Russian involvement in British politics remains opaque. Russian troll factories, cyber groups such as Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear, bizarre trips to Italian parties hosted by KGB officers by then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. We will all need to wait patiently for the truth.
To mis-quote Winston Churchill, the Russian intelligence operations remain ' a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma!
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