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UK prime minister Boris Johnson is being sued by a cross-party group of MPs and peers over alleged Russian election interference.
The group says Johnson has failed in his duty to ensure that elections are free and fair, and is calling for a judicial review of the government’s behavior.
"We aren't asking for much, just that the PM does his duty to protect the UK and our elections by ordering an enquiry into Russian interference," says Liberal Democrat peer Lord Strasburger.
The group, known as the Citizens, believes that the government has breached its obligations under Article 3 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protects each citizen’s right to free and fair elections and the Inquiries Act 2005.
The move follows the publication of a report by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which concluded that the government did not even look for evidence as to whether Russia meddled in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
The report described 'credible evidence' of interference, and called for new legislation, saying that the Official Secrets Act was no longer fit for purpose, and that there was no one body with primary responsibility to defend UK democratic processes from hostile foreign interference.
"The prime minister’s casual dismissal of the Russia Report is deliberately irresponsible. Attempts to undermine western democracies have not stopped, and we need to learn from what’s happened in the past so we can ensure our electoral processes are robust enough to withstand potential future meddling," says Green MP Caroline Lucas.
"The sovereignty and security of our country, alongside the integrity of our democracy is at stake, and this government’s wilfully turning a blind eye cannot be allowed to pass unchallenged."
The group says it can point to evidence of cyber attacks, disinformation and influence campaigns. Bots and trolls pushed pro-Brexit, anti-EU stories online, it says, and advertising and fake accounts were usedto target people with disinformation.
"Our clients, who represent a range of political views, are taking this groundbreaking legal action to safeguard the right of UK citizens to free and fair elections as protected by Article 3 of the First protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights," says Tessa Gregor, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, which is representing the group.
"They are asking the court to step in to ensure that the government complies with its legal duty to independently investigate credible allegations of Russian interference and to adequately protect future elections from foreign interference."
