TOM Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, has suggested the UK Government should order an official investigation into whether or not the EU referendum result was “stolen” by the Russian state.

It is the first time that a member of the Shadow Cabinet has questioned the legitimacy of the 2016 vote.

Mr Watson raised the issue during a question and answer session at the Byline journalism and free speech festival in East Sussex when he suggested there should be a full public inquiry with powers similar to those of the US special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference into the 2016 American presidential election.

The Shadow Culture Secretary later tweeted: “Today I called on the government to confirm the National Crime Agency is investigating Russian links to http://Leave.EU .

“If not, we need a public inquiry. It is time the British people were told whether the EU referendum result was stolen by the Russian state. #BylineFest.”

His Labour colleague Ben Bradshaw, a former Culture Secretary, who has been pressing for more than a year for the Conservative Government to act on reports of Russian interference, tweeted that it was “great to have the Labour front bench weighing in”.

Businessman Arron Banks, who helped found Leave.EU, has repeatedly denied any links between the pro-Brexit campaign and the Russian state.

Also attending the festival, Tory backbencher Damian Collins, who chairs the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, spoke of the need for a Mueller-style investigation in the UK with powers to compel witnesses and evidence.

“There are places where the committee could not go because we did not have the powers with the consequence that there are lots of grey areas. A special investigator would have the power to compel evidence and witnesses in a way that we were not able to,” said Mr Collins.

Last month, his committee claimed that the UK faced a "democratic crisis" with voters being targeted with "pernicious views" and data being manipulated. It proposed measures to combat election interference.