23 September 2026
A new national centre will be set up to fight foreign disinformation, after Luke Myer MP repeatedly pressed for a more joined-up response to hostile states spreading propaganda online.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the National Centre for Information Defence at the United Nations, with the new body tasked with detecting, identifying and disrupting hostile-state information attacks. The Prime Minister said Russia had used bots, fake websites, falsified news articles and forged British branding as part of efforts to manipulate information and sow division. There is strong independent evidence from expert bodies like RUSI confirming that Russia conducts organised online influence operations designed to exploit divisions and spread false or misleading material.
The announcement follows months of pressure from Luke and other backbench MPs over the threat posed by foreign interference online. He has warned in Parliament on twelve separate occasions about hostile states using online disinformation to undermine democracy, and has repeatedly pressed the Security Minister, the MoD, and DCMS ministers on the issue. Luke also raised foreign-state social media disinformation directly with Andy Burnham during a meeting on 7 July, shortly before he became Prime Minister. Backbenchers including Luke have been urging government to establish a single lead in Government to tackle online disinformation, pointing out that responsibility was spread between the Security Minister, Defending Democracy Taskforce, DSIT, DCMS and the MoD.
The new centre announced today will bring together expertise from across Government, the intelligence agencies, law enforcement and social media companies. The Government is also acting on the findings of the independent review into foreign financial interference, following the conviction of former Reform UK politician Nathan Gill for taking bribes to promote pro-Russian propaganda.
Luke Myer MP said:
“The evidence is absolutely clear that Britain’s adversaries abroad are deliberately using social media to spread lies, exploit divisions and undermine trust in our democracy.
“A few months ago, I said that unless the Government grips this issue, we would not have a democracy left to defend. This was no exaggeration. This is nothing less than a national security threat.
“I welcome the creation of this new centre. It now needs the tools and authority to identify these campaigns quickly, expose who is behind them and disrupt them, while protecting the free and open debate that is fundamental to our democracy.”
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Dame Emily Thornberry MP, said:
“For too long, the approach of successive governments to disinformation has been disjointed and without organisation, allowing states like Russia to amplify lies about this country, to sow division and stoke tensions. This new National Centre for Information Defence is an opportunity to finally take on this very serious threat.”