THE delay in the release of the MPs' report examining Russian influence in British politics is "not normal", Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Foreign Secretary, has insisted.
The Scot, who also once chaired the Intelligence and Security Committee[ISC] declared: "It is an absurd position that No 10 Downing Street have put themselves in."
His comments came after Hillary Clinton, the former Democrat presidential candidate, said it was "inexplicable and shameful" that the UK Government would not publish the report until after the General Election on December 12.
The House of Commons was previously told a report by the ISC was sent to Boris Johnson for approval on October 17.
Sir Malcolm, who also served as the Scottish Secretary, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "When you have a report on whether there's been Russian interference in our elections, in our domestic politics and we have a General Election coming up, which means that the ISC is dissolved as Parliament is dissolved, then - as Hillary Clinton is entirely correct - it is an absurd position that Number 10 Downing Street have put themselves in."
He admitted there was a "lot of speculation" about the contents of the report but noted: "The proper course of action would have been for the Prime Minister to invite the chair of the committee, Dominic Grieve, on a Privy Council basis, to have a private conversation as to why unfortunately it's not possible to release the report, then Grieve could come to his own view as to whether that was reasonable or not. Now, that has not happened."
Sir Malcolm argued that the delay could be two to three months, which made it all the more intolerable.
"The Prime Minister has been totally in support of sanctions because sanctions are imposed on Russia as a result of the Crimea and matters of that kind. So there's no self-interest that the Prime Minister could have, if some individuals in the Conservative Party have been receiving money from Russians.
"He would be as anxious as the rest of us to see that exposed and be grateful to the committee for identifying them if that's what they do."
Although there has been no indication of the precise contents of the report, it will assess the threat posed by Moscow to Britain's democratic processes following an 18-month inquiry into illicit Russian activities in Britain.
It was claimed at the weekend that nine Russian business people, who had donated money to the Conservative Party, were named in the dossier.
Mr Grieve, the former Attorney General who has seen the report, has stressed its publication is essential ahead of the election as it contained information "germane" to voters.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel