British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the UN General Assembly in New York that the Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion, or approximately $1.7 billion, on information manipulation every year. In response, London will establish a National Centre for Information Defence to detect, attribute and disrupt operations by foreign states against British democratic institutions.
Briefly about the main points
- Bernam estimated the Kremlin’s spending on influence campaigns at £1.3 billion a year.
- A new British centre will identify and disrupt foreign information operations.
- The Prime Minister mentioned fabricated materials, bots and the branding of 28 British organisations.
- London wants to propose global standards for frontier AI at the G20.
- Bernam described generative AI as a risk factor for manipulation and cyber operations.
What Russian operations did the British Prime Minister describe?
In a speech on 22 September Bernham He said that the UK and its allies had been subjected to large-scale information operations by hostile states in recent years. He accused Russia of conducting an «industrial-scale» influence campaign.
According to the Prime Minister, Russian entities used bots, fake websites, fabricated newspaper articles and forged identities of British organisations. He stated that the branding of 28 institutions, including universities and the BBC, had been used in these operations.
Bernam also stated that the British side has evidence of attempts by Russia to interfere in the 2019 general election. Russia has previously denied allegations of interference and information operations against Western countries.
The centre will involve the intelligence services, the police and technology companies
Burnam has instructed the British security and intelligence agencies to begin work on the National Centre for Information Defence. According to the official transcript of his speech, its remit will include identifying the origins of attacks and strengthening the defence of democratic institutions, as well as detecting and disrupting operations by foreign states.
The Guardian reported that the plan is to involve intelligence services, law enforcement agencies and technology companies in the centre’s work. Its areas of focus include combating deepfakes and campaigns that utilise generative artificial intelligence.
London is ready to share its experience with other countries. In his speech, the Prime Minister specifically mentioned the assistance provided to Moldova in safeguarding its electoral processes from Russian interference.
London proposes global rules for frontier AI
Artificial intelligence was a separate topic in the speech. Burnham stated that Britain aims to be an «honest broker» between various centres of power in the development of common global principles and standards for frontier AI. He intends to make this issue a key focus of the UK’s G20 presidency in 2027.
The Prime Minister said that decisions regarding such technologies should not be left solely to companies and developers. The government is considering new legislation to protect citizens, whilst Bernam described AI as a potential driver of economic growth, advances in medicine, education and national security.
He said AI «a risk multiplier» for information attacks, cyber operations and the manipulation of public opinion. This approach differs from that of the US President Donald Trump, who, at that same General Assembly, spoke out against new restrictions on AI, although he did state that the US Department of Justice would be monitoring the sector.
At the same time, the UK and the US are preparing a new partnership in the fields of AI and defence, in particular to protect critical infrastructure, the British government has announced.
