Andy Burnham has announced plans for a new “National Centre for Information Defence” to fight so-called “disinformation” about the UK.
The Prime Minister, addressing the United Nations, announced the centre to improve “community cohesion” and prevent a “distorted and untrue narrative about Britain”.
He has ordered security chiefs to set up the quango, which will detect, attribute and disrupt “hostile information attacks” and “deepfakes” which hurt British interests.
It is initially being led out of the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet, with the new centre working alongside intelligence agencies, Government departments, the police and social media firms.
He told the UN there was no “national security without a strong, cohesive society”.
“That’s the starting point for everything we hold dear and everything we want to achieve,” he added.
“But the fact is that it has been under attack.”
Mr Burnham then accused Russia of engaging in a “industrial-scale assault by hostile actors on the information environment”.
He added that Vladimir Putin’s men had used “every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people’s fears”.
Andy Burnham has announced a new National Centre for Information Defence to tackle disinformation
|
REUTERS
“They’ve used bots and fake websites,” the Prime Minister said. “Falsified newspaper articles and forged the branding of 28 British organisations – including universities and the BBC.
“They’ve amplified far right narratives. And we have evidence that they tried to interfere with the 2019 General Election.”
Russia has previously been accused of using illicitly-acquired documents about UK-US trade talks to try to influence the 2019 vote.
Mr Burnham also claimed Moscow tried to “stoke tensions and unrest in the wake of horrific events”, describing the actions as “repulsive”.
ANDY BURNHAM AT THE UNITED NATIONS – READ MORE:
The new unit will be led by the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet
|
REUTERS
Mr Burnham used his UN speech to place Britain as a world leader in new AI regulations.
But further Labour crackdowns on the internet and calls for restrictions on AI – which Mr Trump called “super intelligence” at his UN address earlier today – could put the two countries increasingly at odds.
Nile Gardiner, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher, told GB News the speech was “exactly the kind of messaging that the Trump administration absolutely hates”.
“Andy Burnham’s speech was talk of control and censorship. Exactly the kind of messaging that the Trump administration absolutely hates,” he said.
“I think this very chilling, Orwellian-style message with regard to AI is going to lead to a great deal of conflict with the Trump White House.
Andy Burnham’s announcement on internet restrictions could place it odds with the White House
|
REUTERS
“In fact, Trump has already spoken out against these kinds of regulations, which will be used, of course, to control freedom of speech.”
Mr Trump’s White House hauled high-ranking British officials into the US embassy in London for a grilling over the Government internet crackdown just last week.
US officials raised concerns widespread social media bans for under-16s, the Online Safety Act, and plans to promote “trusted and accurate” news outlets, including the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
Just hours before Mr Burnham’s own speech, the President said the US would “only encourage super intelligence”, adding that the US had no intention to “rein it in”.
“The United States leads the world in super intelligence, and we’ll continue to do so safely and responsibly,” Mr Trump added.
Leave a Reply