The Guardian view on the Russia report: elections need to be protected | Editorial

An inquiry into Russian meddling in the Brexit referendum is the first step to show that democracy cannot be manipulated

Was the Brexit referendum swung by Vladimir Putin's Russia? Under Boris Johnson, we may never know. Unlike the US - where a report into Russian interference in the 2016 election was produced within two months of the vote - Britons have been kept in the dark about Moscow's meddling. On Tuesday, Mr Johnson rejected a call by MPs on the intelligence and security committee (ISC) for an inquiry into potential Russian interference in the 2016 vote". The government claims there was no evidence of successful interference in the EU referendum" - but how would it know if no one has looked? The lack of curiosity about the protection of the political process from foreign influence is bad news for a liberal democracy built on the idea of safe elections. But it is good news for Mr Putin, who wants western voters to lose trust in their political systems.

The ISC report is about a year old. It seems likely that Mr Johnson had blocked its publication for political reasons. If it had emerged that there had been no assessment of the seriousness of the threat that Russia posed to our democracy last year, then without a majority in parliament he might have been forced to concede one. After December he could brush off calls for an inquiry. Given the steady stream of revelations about Mr Putin's well-oiled campaign to interfere in elections across Europe, it ought to be obvious that there should be an appraisal of how many Russian financiers, trolls, hackers and provocateurs were allowed to influence the most important political choice the country has faced in decades.