THE FOREIGN and Common-wealth Office have dismissed claims that a government-funded, social media business, based in Auchtermuchty, is at the heart of a “black-ops” attack on Labour.

Reports earlier this week claimed the Institute for Statecraft’s Integrity Initiative programme, which has received nearly £2.5 million in funding to counter online Russian propaganda and disinformation spread by the Kremlin, was targeting Jeremy Corbyn.

According to the Sunday Mail, it tried to promote tweets calling the Labour leader a “useful idiot” who helped the Kremlin cause and attacked members of his staff.

On Monday, Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan ordered an immediate investigation. Yesterday, responding to an urgent question from Labour’s Emily Thornberry in the Commons, he said the probe proved the claims were “wholly untrue”.

But Thornberry was not satisfied by Duncan’s assurances.

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“It is a cardinal rule of public life in our country that official resources should not be used for political purposes, a rule we saw symbolised this very morning when the Prime Minister delivered her statement outside Downing Street with the usual government coat of arms removed from her lectern because of the political nature of her statement,” she said.

The National:

“There is, I am afraid, absolutely no doubt that the publicly funded Integrity Initiative has broken that rule repeatedly by using its Twitter accounts to disseminate articles attacking the integrity of Conservative and Labour officials, of Conservative peers and, repeatedly, of the leader of Her Majesty’s opposition.”

Duncan said the group, which is registered as a charity in Scotland, did “some automatic retweeting of stories that relate to Russia”.

He added: “Of course, on some occasions that includes mentions of the right honourable leader of the opposition; equally, there could be mention of a Conservative, as indeed has happened on many occasions.

“It has been judged to be no more than non-partisan repetition of stories that relate to Russia.”

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Labour’s Jenny Chapman said Duncan appeared to be “affronted by the anger” shown by her party, adding he should be “sharing in this anger” and urging him to do more to investigate the Integrity Initiative.

The minister replied: “No, I do not share in the anger because I think the accusations that are being made are both misplaced and have been categorically denied, and MPs should accept the assurance on that basis.”

The SNP’s Martyn Docherty-Hughes came to the Integrity Initiative’s defence, telling MPs that the group had “criticised all political parties”, including the SNP.

Their criticism came, he said, when politicians fell foul “inadvertently or not, of the Russian disinformation narrative trap”.

The West Dunbartonshire MP added: “I am a wee bit concerned that we fall into a trap where we are exposing the plethora of, some would say, Putin-Verstehers in grey suits in all political parties.”