Foreign interference is real - but the UK should look beyond the usual culprits

Foreign interference is real - but the UK should look beyond the usual culprits Submitted by Mustafa al-Dabbagh on Thu, 08/13/2026 - 13:16 Foreign money and foreign direction should be treated as a problem regardless of which state masterminds it An Extinction Rebellion protest outside 55 Tufton Street on 20 December 2025. Tufton Street houses think tanks and lobby groups that have shaped UK policy (Andrea Domeniconi/SOPA Images via Reuters Connect) On Last month the British government added interference in the democratic process to the National Risk Register , ranking it alongside cyberattack and pandemic as a threat to national security. The framing is consistent, and mostly justified: the National Security Act 2023 , the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, and the Defending Democracy Taskforce target China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, and parliament's committees have documented sustained hostile efforts to shape British politics.