A very English coop (sic) d'etat
A Russian hack of emails from leading Brexiteers confirms what we've long suspected.
Reuters has a scoop today on a data leak published by hackers likely tied to the Russian state. If verified, the substantial archive of emails between leading Brexit lobbyists including former MI6 chief Richard Dearlove, ex-Labour MP Gisela Stuart, and Cambridge historian Robert Tombs amounts to an establishment plot to remove Theresa May as UK prime minister, and replace her England's leading narcissist Boris Johnson, who infamously sided with Leave for reasons of career advancement.
The coup plotters, if that's how they can reasonably be described, went out of their way to scupper May's proposed deal with the EU, and instead have the UK leave the EU on World Trade Organisation terms, i.e., the hardest of all possible Brexits. It would seem that they achieved most of their aims.
Dearlove and is co-hacked are not challenging the veracity of the leaked material, just pointing the finger at the source. Which is ironic, given that the Putin regime is behind much of the political disinformation and shenanigans that propelled the Brexiteers to victory in the 2016 referendum. It says much that a man who once headed Britain's foreign intelligence service is tied up with a (continuing) Russia-led geopolitical conspiracy.
Am I shocked by the news? Not even mildly surprised. As for the credibility of the source, we should of course verify the emails before casting final judgement on the accused. So far the data look sound, and one shouldn't dismiss the emails simply because they were hacked by Russian spies. Question the motivation for the leak, by all means, but at the same time make full use of it, bury Dearlove et al., and undo Brexit before it destroys the nations of Britain.