{"id":7064617,"date":"2026-09-23T08:14:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T08:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/pms-new-anti-disinformation-unit-wont-target-domestic-political-dissent-defence-secretary-says-uk-politics-live-politics\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T08:14:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T08:14:06","slug":"pms-new-anti-disinformation-unit-wont-target-domestic-political-dissent-defence-secretary-says-uk-politics-live-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064617","title":{"rendered":"PM\u2019s new anti-disinformation unit won\u2019t target \u2018domestic political dissent\u2019, defence secretary says \u2013 UK politics live | Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Good morning. Andy Burnham<\/strong> delivered his speech to the United Nations in what felt like the middle of the night in UK time and he announced that he is setting up what he is calling a National Centre for Information Defence.<\/p>\n

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Burnham said this was necessary because \u201cover the last decade we have given too much ground to those who want to run a negative, corrosive narrative about life in Britain, which bears no resemblance to reality\u201d.<\/p>\n

Over at GB News<\/strong> they seem a bit worried this morning about the prospect of a crackdown on corrosive narratives about Britain which bear no resemblance to reality, and they are running a story<\/a> with a headline referencing \u201cfree speech fears\u201d. It includes a quote from a rightwing commentator claiming the Burnham speech was all \u201ctalk of control and censorship \u2013 exactly the kind of messaging that the Trump administration absolutely hates\u201d.<\/p>\n

But close reading of the speech makes it clear that Burnham<\/strong> is not aiming his fire at any parts of the UK media. Burnham said he was concerned about hostile state actors waging disinformation warfare, especially Russia. He told the UN:<\/p>\n

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double quotation mark<\/title><\/svg>In recent years we have seen an industrial-scale assault by hostile actors on the information environment in the UK and that of many of our allies.<\/p>\n

Russian agencies have used every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people\u2019s fears.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve used bots and fake websites.<\/p>\n

Falsified newspaper articles.<\/p>\n

Forged the branding of 28 British organisations \u2013 including universities and the BBC.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve amplified far-right narratives.<\/p>\n

And we have evidence that they tried to interfere with the 2019 general election.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

(Burnham did not address the fact that there are some within the Trump administration who have also been amplifying far-right narratives with claims about the UK which certainly count as misinformation, and arguably meet the disinformation threshold too.)<\/p>\n

Wes Streeting<\/strong>, the defence secretary, has been giving interviews this morning and, speaking to GB News, he was asked about claims that Burnham\u2019s new unit could be used against Britons who\u201d simply disagree\u201d with the government. That would not happen, he said.<\/p>\n

He told the programme:<\/p>\n

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double quotation mark<\/title><\/svg>One of the great things about Britain, and one of the things that I have a responsibility to defend, is the freedom and democracy that we all enjoy.<\/p>\n

And that includes the freedom to disagree, the freedom for people to challenge their government, to challenge government policy, to criticise robustly what we are doing and then to have the opportunity to choose a different government.<\/p>\n

That is a stark contrast to the position that our friends the Russian people endure under the political system that they suffer under.<\/p>\n

Russia is just one of a number of malign state and non-state actors that seek to threaten and disrupt our democracy, including through misinformation and disinformation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Streeting added:<\/p>\n

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double quotation mark<\/title><\/svg>We\u2019re not interested in policing domestic political dissent.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You can read Burnham\u2019s UN speech in full here<\/a>. I will be posting more from it soon.<\/p>\n

The Commons is still in recess, and most people in government are getting ready for the Labour<\/a> conference next week, and so there is almost nothing in the Westminster diary. But there was enough news at the UN yesterday to pad out the week, and so I\u2019m sure there will be enough to cover.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m afraid we are no longer able to have comments open below the line every day on this blog<\/a>. If you want to contact me, please email politics.live@theguardian.com. You can use this email to flag up corrections, comments for publication, questions or complaints.<\/p>\n