LONDON: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “must be prepared for the possibility of foreign interference” in the election campaign ahead of the July 4 vote, parliament’s security committee warned on Friday.
Margaret Beckett, chair of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS), wrote in a letter to Sunak that there had been a “pattern of attempted foreign interference from countries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea” in recent years.
The letter highlighted findings from security officials that it was “almost certain” Russian actors sought to interfere in the UK’s 2019 vote, and that China was seeking to influence democratic processes overseas.
“It is our view that the UK must be prepared for the possibility of foreign interference” during the July 4 general election, it added.
That interference could include cyberattacks, blackmailing of lawmakers, spreading of disinformation online — including AI “deep fakes” — and sowing of division on controversial topics.
The government should help educate the public to identify disinformation and ensure the safety of elected politicians, advised the committee.
Beckett, a former foreign secretary in Tony Blair’s Labour government, urged Sunak “to identify any last actions that can be taken collectively in the national interest” before the current parliament is dissolved next week.
Advancements in AI and the deepening of hostilities between the West and nations such as Russia have led experts to warn of an unprecedented threat ahead of the key elections in the UK and the United States this year.
Sunak urged to ‘safeguard’ UK vote against foreign interference
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Sunak urged to ‘safeguard’ UK vote against foreign interference
- Letter highlighted findings from security officials that it was “almost certain” Russian actors sought to interfere in the UK’s 2019 vote
- That interference could include cyberattacks, blackmailing of lawmakers, spreading of disinformation online — including AI “deep fakes”
12 killed, 20 injured in suicide blast outside district court in Pakistan’s capital – official
- According to the official, the explosion took place outside a district court in Islamabad’s G-11 sector
ISLAMABAD: Twelve people were killed while 20 others were injured in a suicide blast outside a court in Islamabad on Tuesday, a security official confirmed.
According to the official, the explosion took place outside a district court in Islamabad’s G-11 sector, saying the blast affected mostly passersby standing nearby at the time of the incident.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the official said the blast had been carried out by the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit, which the military frequently describes as “Indian-sponsored” and “Fitna-ul-Khawarij.”
“The bodies of 12 people killed in the explosion have been shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital,” the security official said on condition of anonymity. “Twenty injured have been shifted to emergency room at PIMS Hospital.”
The official said that more wounded persons were being brought into the hospital.
“The alleged suicide bomber’s severed head was found on the road,” he added.
Earlier Tuesday, Pakistani security forces said they foiled an attempt by militants to take cadets hostage at an army-run college overnight, when a suicide car bomber and five other Pakistani Taliban fighters targeted the facility in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
The attack started on Monday evening, when a bomber tried to storm the cadet college in Wana, a city in KP near the Afghan border. The area had until recent years served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other foreign militants.
According to Alamgir Mahsud, the local police chief, two of the militants were quickly killed by troops while three militants managed to enter the compound before being cornered in an administrative block. The army’s commandoes were among the forces conducting a clearance operation and an intermittent exchange of fire went on into Tuesday, Mahsud said.
The administrative block is away from the building housing hundreds of cadets and other staff.
The Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, denied involvement in the college attack. The group has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, and many of its leaders and fighters are believed to have taken refuge in Afghanistan.
– with additional input from AP News
