RUSI Recommendations Adopted by UK Inquiry Report into Foreign Political Interference
The Joint Committee on National Security Strategy (JCNSS), as part of its Defending Democracy inquiry, has published a report on political finance and foreign interference in the UK which draws heavily on the work of RUSI’s Centre for Finance and Security (CFS).
The report highlights the scale and severity of foreign financial interference threats faced by the UK and recommends a series of responses. Its recommendations are likely to be considered as landmark electoral reform legislation is finalised by Parliament.
Significantly, the JCNSS recommends an immediate moratorium on crypto donations – endorsing research by RUSI’s Cryptocurrencies in UK Politics project - led by RUSI Research Fellow Eliza Lockhart and CFS Director Tom Keatinge - in concluding that a ban would create a false sense of security because it does not address the risks posed posed by crypto-enabled financial flows throughout the full payments chain.
Referencing evidence given by CFS Director Tom Keatinge, the committee instead calls for an immediate moratorium to pause the UK’s current exposure, while building the regulatory and enforcement capabilities needed to manage this risk before the next general election.
Eliza Lockhart said:
The report paints a stark picture of the UK’s ability to withstand foreign financial interference in politics. Rising state threats, fragmented regulatory oversight and widening technological vulnerabilities have left a political finance system that is, in the committee’s words, ‘too brittle, permissive, disjointed, slow, retrospective and underpowered to respond adequately’.
Eliza Lockhart
Research Fellow
RUSI’s Cryptocurrencies in UK Politics project examines the risk of opaque, foreign or malign influence entering UK politics via cryptocurrency donations.