THE UK Government must take alleged Israeli interference in the Scottish election seriously and fully investigate, External Affairs minister Stephen Gethins has said.
Last week, an investigation by Viginum, France’s service for vigilance and protection against foreign digital interference, identified interference by Israeli firm BlackCore in elections in Scotland, France, New York City and elsewhere.
In Scotland, the agency reported identifying hundreds of fake accounts linked to BlackCore targeting John Swinney and the SNP on social media, with the operation ending on May 8, the day after Scots went to the polls.
The SNP said the findings were “deeply concerning” adding that on social media the party was subject to “an unprecedented level of negative reactions and comments from accounts which appeared to be AI-generated bots” throughout the election campaign.
But the UK Government refused to give any comment on Viginum’s findings.
John Swinney called for action from Keir Starmer’s Government and Gethins has now written to the UK Government to demand a full investigation.
Speaking to The National podcast, Gethins said he wants to see Labour taking the allegations seriously, adding that the SNP “deserve answers”.
He said: “These allegations made by the French authorities in this investigation are really serious […] so I wrote to the security minister in the hope the security minister will take this seriously and that they will fully investigate it.
“Obviously there’s a lot they will be able to share and some stuff they won’t be able to share more publicly, I understand that, but I just want to know the UK is taking these allegations made against those who were acting against our First Minister as seriously as we should be at a time when foreign interference is something that all politicians of all political parties – be it in Holyrood, Westminster, the Senedd or wherever else – [should be] taking deeply seriously.
“I think we deserve some answers.”
Gethins, who has also been handed the Europe and energy brief since stepping into Holyrood, wrote to former security minister Dan Jarvis just before he was replaced by Angela Eagle after stepping up to take John Healey’s place as Defence Secretary.
Healey resigned from the post last week over a dispute about military funding.
Election experts told The National the allegations were worrying for democracy but cast doubt on whether the supposed actions of BlackCore would have had any significant cut-through when Scotland is so united on the issue of Gaza.
Professor Ailsa Henderson told The National: “"Any targeting of John Swinney for his comments on Gaza would have struggled for two reasons.
"The Scottish electorate still votes on constitutional lines, which serves as a bit of a protective factor for both the SNP and for the First Minister personally. But more obviously, the Scottish electorate agrees with him about Gaza. They’re divided on the constitution, but they’re not divided on that."
Gethins did, however, warn that this does not mean Scotland can be complacent about foreign interference.
He added there is a responsibility on social media companies and us as social media users to act against the spread of disinformation as well as on security agencies.
“I think there’s a responsibility on the security agencies to look at this and that’s why I’ve written to the minister,” he said.
“There’s also a responsibility on the social media companies to take this seriously and treat it seriously, but we also need to reflect on how we share information as well as users of social media channels. What’s the source? Is it reliable?
“There are certain guidelines we must always follow in terms of our resharing of disinformation. All of these things we need to look at as individuals in a democratic society.
“It’s right we discuss and debate and we share information, but we need to make sure that information is reliable and that’s a responsibility we all share.”
Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer also called for action from Westminster, asking if Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will "follow France's lead and summon the Israeli ambassador? Or will she continue Labour's tradition of letting them away with absolutely anything?"
