The British government has refused to release any files about alleged meddling by an Israeli firm in elections in Scotland earlier this year.
A little-known firm named BlackCore was accused by French authorities in June of meddling in elections in Scotland, France, New York, Angola and Togo after a probe uncovered the use of fake social media accounts.
Viginum, a French government agency that fights foreign digital interference, said BlackCore had coordinated hundreds of accounts to post negative comments about Scottish first minister John Swinney during his bid for re-election, which was nonetheless successful.
The agency launched an investigation after evidence suggested BlackCore may have tried to smear three candidates from the leftwing France Unbowed party during municipal elections in March, Reuters reported.
After the National newspaper asked for files relating to the allegations under freedom of information (FOI) rules, the UK Cabinet Office rejected the request to “avoid giving offence to other nations and retain the trust of our international partners”.
It also said doing so could damage national security. “Taking into account all the circumstances of this case, we have determined that the balance of the public interest favours withholding this information,” it said.
An exemption under FOI rules allows for information to be withheld if it would “prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and any other state”.
Scotland’s government, however, did release some files in response to an identical request made by the National, while withholding others on national security grounds.
The files suggest that Swinney and other government figures were unaware of the allegations about BlackCore until they saw them in the media.
“You might not have seen this,” one email between two redacted addresses said.
John Webster, the principal private secretary to the first minister, was copied in. He replied: “I have shared this with FM [Swinney] – anticipating that he will want to understand more about this report… and what actions remedial and future / proactive are being taken.”
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay told the National: “These allegations of meddling in elections from BlackCore represent a potentially extremely serious attack on Scotland’s democracy.
“The public deserves to know whether warnings were missed before polling day, and what action has been taken since. All governments should do their part to provide clear assurances that Scotland’s democratic processes are being protected.”
BlackCore deleted its online presence after being contacted by Reuters in June, and has not made any public statements about the allegations.
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