Urgent question on the Institute for Statecraft
12 December 2018
Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry, asked an urgent question on recent allegations of a Foreign Office funded company which carried out a smear campaign against the official Opposition.
The government is said to have provided funding to a Scottish-based company, the Institute for Statecraft, to counter Russian propaganda. It is alleged that the company took part in a smear campaign against the official Opposition. The Foreign Office has since launched an investigation into the incident.
The Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Rt Hon Sir Alan Duncan, responded on behalf of the Government and stated that the Institute for Statecraft is an Independent UK based charity which works to counter disinformation overseas.
Sir Alan Duncan confirmed the company has received nearly two millions pounds so far this year which covers activity overseas and not within the UK. The Minister claimed that "recent reports that Foreign Office funding has been used to support party political activity in the UK are therefore wholly untrue."
- Watch Parliament TV: urgent question on Institute for Statecraft: Integrity Initiative
- Read Commons Hansard: urgent question on urgent question on Institute for Statecraft: Integrity Initiative
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