WE all want elections and our forthcoming independence referendum to be clean, fair and with clear rules that ensure level playing fields. Some of these laws are made in Scotland, but some, particularly on dark money, data protection and transparency, are reserved to Westminster but impact on our democracy too so it is only right we work to make them fit for purpose. However, you could drive a Russian tank through them.

Back in July 2020 the Intelligence and Security committee of the House of Commons dropped a bombshell when it released the Russia Report, finding credible evidence that the Russian state tried to interfere in the UK’s, and Scotland’s, democracy.

You would have thought there would have been a huge reaction, but the response from the UK Government has been ... quiet.

So, I and five other MPs and members of the House of Lords (we couldn’t find any LibDem or Tory MPs who wanted to sign up) took the UK Government to court for failing in its democratic duty to safeguard our elections.

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There are many bad actors in Scottish politics but the Russia Report found that the Russian state has actively attempted to interfere not just in our elections but those in others in countries as well, such as France, Germany and the United States.

The tactics are simple but effective – the creation of online “bots” and “trolls” on social media to amplify disinformation stories, or hacking and leaking operations to damage Putin’s opponents, with state-owned media such as RT and Sputnik pumping out misinformation and disinformation stories. There are other organisations that don’t hit the mark, too, but this was a serious and credible report that says Russia has a case to answer and the UK has failed to protect us.

The aim of such attacks is not to overthrow liberal democracy but rather to undermine public trust in democratic institutions. How can voters perform their civic duty if they believe their votes are being tampered with? How can our citizens discern truth from lies if each story, each article, each comment is treated as completely valid? How can we stop our society from tearing itself apart when social media creates echo chambers of distrust and discord?

Bad actors need not win an election for their preferred factions to achieve their aims. They need only create an atmosphere of hostility and distrust in our political system among our own people.

The Russia Report outlined how our current legislation is especially weak: the Official Secrets Acts, the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Computer Misuse Act are either out of date, too restrictive or simply woefully inadequate at tackling the threat of foreign interference.

The committee instead proposed new legislation such as an equivalent to the US Foreign Agents Registration Act. This act compels those acting in a foreign capacity on US soil to register with the US Department of Justice and disclose information about their relationship with foreign governments and activities. At the same time, we should push for legislation to cut off illicit finance streams by including serious and organised crime as grounds for introducing sanctions.

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 can be updated to reflect the reality of the digital world with smartphones, tablets and autonomous technologies that previously belonged in the realm of science fiction.

Looking to other states, such as those in Scandinavia, we could develop national resilience by involving everyone in playing their part in national security. This could be done through national civic forces, public campaigns or educational courses aimed at identifying disinformation. My friend Stewart McDonald, our SNP defence spokesperson, published a great report just this week on exactly this.

READ MORE: Scotland needs a disinformation commissioner to tackle fake news, SNP MP says

So while Stewart has been active on solutions, I was proud to take the UK Government to court to try to force it to fulfil its obligations. The Russia Report was a wake-up call for a government that remains quite deliberately asleep on the job. The integrity of our electoral system is fundamental to our democracy. Our political system will only function if people across this country have faith that their voices will be heard.

The challenge disinformation presents is beyond the ability of private social media companies to deal with it. It is a global problem that requires global co-ordination, but the Government can take actions to mitigate damage within these islands.

First and foremost, it should fully implement the recommendations of the Intelligence and Security Committee made in the Russia Report to modernise our legislation. Secondly, it should launch a public inquiry into how much of a factor foreign interference played in the Brexit referendum. Thirdly, it must take further action to develop national resilience to ensure the people can discern truth from lies, reality from fiction.

We lost yesterday’s case. The Judge in the High Court took, to my mind, an overly narrow legalistic view of the obligations on government. But I think the questions raised, remain, so we are appealing to the Court of Appeal so the issues can be tested there and if necessary in Strasbourg at the European Court of Human Rights. The UK Government has not done nothing with the Russia Report, but I don’t think it has done nearly enough. As democratic citizens we have a right to fair and free elections. It is time the UK Government took its duty to protect as seriously as we do. We’ve an independence referendum to protect.