Committee publication · Correspondence · 28 January 2026

Correspondence with the Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy, MHCLG, relating to disinformation, dated 22 and 07 January

Inquiry: Disinformation diplomacy: How malign actors are seeking to undermine democracy

Summary

Correspondence between the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy on disinformation and foreign interference. The Committee expresses concern about fragmented UK government response to disinformation threats and requests clarity on cross-departmental coordination. The Minister outlines the government's governance structures, including the Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit and an independent review into foreign financial interference, emphasizing whole-system approaches.

Key findings

The Joint Election Security and Preparedness (JESP) Unit, established April 2023, coordinates cross-government election security efforts including response to disinformation threats
An election cell will be stood up in May 2026 for local and devolved elections, bringing together Home Office, DSIT, Cabinet Office, FCDO, intelligence community, police, and Electoral Commission
Foreign Affairs Committee identifies lack of single department responsible for monitoring disinformation and counters foreign interference as vulnerability, echoed in FCDO's own written evidence
Government announced independent review (Philip Rycroft-led, December 2025) examining political finance laws, party regulation, Electoral Commission enforcement, and foreign interference checks
Electoral Commission runs public awareness campaigns on electoral processes and coordinates with Ofcom and civil society on voter resilience to misinformation

Tone

Procedural

Topics

democracy-defencedisinformationelection-securityforeign-interferencegovernment-coordination

Key actors

Samantha Dixon, Dame Emily Thornberry, Philip Rycroft, Steve Reed, Foreign Affairs Committee, Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit, Electoral Commission, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Notable line

“… the UK Government currently lacks a single department responsible for monitoring and countering malign actors disseminating disinformation against the UK and its overseas interests.”

Key Quotes

“… tackling foreign interference in our democracy requires a whole-system approach”
— Samantha Dixon · Responding to Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry on disinformation

“JESP stands up an election cell ahead of elections to coordinate security risk management and will stand up this structure in May 2026 for the local and devolved elections”
— Samantha Dixon · Describing election security arrangements

“… the UK Government currently lacks a single department responsible for monitoring and countering malign actors disseminating disinformation against the UK and its overseas interests”
— Dame Emily Thornberry · Expressing Committee concern about fragmented government response

“There is more work to be done to cohere all relevant departments around agreed information threats approaches, supported by delineated remits and aligned structures”
— Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (quoted by Dame Emily Thornberry) · Acknowledging coordination gaps in UK government disinformation response

“… this Government stands ready to do whatever is necessary to protect British democracy from foreign and hostile interference”
— Samantha Dixon · Closing statement on government commitment to election security

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗