Andy Burnham announced at the United Nations the establishment of a National Centre for Information Defence aimed at combating hostile state actors engaging in disinformation warfare, particularly highlighting Russia's interference through bots, fake websites, and forged documents. Wes Streeting, the UK defence secretary, clarified to GB News that this unit will not target domestic political dissent or freedom of speech, emphasizing the government’s commitment to protecting democratic freedoms while defending against foreign threats like those from Russia.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Andy Burnham, the newly appointed British Prime Minister, addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, where he emphasized that Britain is not "on the slide." Despite acknowledging long-term issues affecting living standards and the current cost-of-living crisis as major challenges, Burnham presented an optimistic outlook for the country's future. He highlighted Britain’s rapid economic growth, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the G7.
Burnham also discussed his plans to establish a national center dedicated to countering disinformation campaigns, particularly those from Russia, which he accused of spending around £1.3 billion annually on manipulating information and spreading lies through various means including bots and fake websites. He proposed that Britain take up a leading role in setting global safety standards for artificial intelligence (AI), arguing that it is critical to prevent rogue AI development.
At the U.N., Burnham also announced plans to cooperate with the United States on an AI defense partnership, integrating British military’s Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce and the U.S. Department of War’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office. This initiative aims to protect infrastructure, detect threats, and enhance governance through advanced technology, positioning Britain as a key player in global tech regulation efforts.
Written for “Andy Burnham UN Speeches” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 16 other(s) covering the same event.
Andy Burnham delivered his speech to the United Nations in what felt like the middle of the night in UK time and he announced that he is setting up what he is calling a National Centre for Information Defence.
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he → deliver → Defence
Burnham said this was necessary because “over the last decade we have given too much ground to those who want to run a negative, corrosive narrative about life in Britain, which bears no resemblance to reality”.
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which → say → reality
Over at GB News they seem a bit worried this morning about the prospect of a crackdown on corrosive narratives about Britain which bear no resemblance to reality, and it is running a story with a headline referencing “free speech fears” and a quote from a rightwing commentator claiming the Burnham speech was all “talk of control and censorship – exactly the kind of messaging that the Trump administration absolutely hates”.
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administration → seem → that
But close reading of the speech makes it clear that Burnham is not aiming his fire at any parts of the UK media.
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Burnham → make → media
Burnham said he was concerned about hostile state actors waging disinformation warfare, especially Russia.
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he → say → warfare
He told the UN:
In recent years we have seen an industrial-scale assault by hostile actors on the information environment in the UK and that of many of our allies.
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we → tell → allies
Russian agencies have used every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people’s fears.
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agencies → use → fears
They’ve used bots and fake websites.
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They → use → bots
They’ve amplified far-right narratives.
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They → amplify → narratives
And we have evidence that they tried to interfere with the 2019 general election.
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they → have → election
(Burnham did not address the fact that there are some within the Trump administration who have also been amplifying far-right narratives with claims about the UK which certainly count as misinformation, and arguably meet the disinformation threshold too.)
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which → address → threshold
Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, has been giving interviews this morning and, speaking to GB News, he was asked about claims that Burnham’s new unit could be used against Britons who” simply disagree” with the government.
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who → give → government
That would not happen, he said.
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he → happen → ?
He told the programme:
One of the great things about Britain, and one of the things that I have a responsibility to defend, is the freedom and democracy that we all enjoy.
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we → tell → that
And that includes the freedom to disagree, the freedom for people to challenge their government, to challenge government policy, to criticise robustly what we are doing and then to have the opportunity to choose a different government.
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we → include → government
That is a stark contrast to the position that our friends the Russian people endure under the political system that they suffer under.
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they → endure → that
Russia is just one of a number of malign state and non-state actors that seek to threaten and disrupt our democracy, including through misinformation and disinformation.
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that → seek → misinformation
Streeting added:
We’re not interested in policing domestic political dissent.
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We → add → dissent
You can read Burnham’s UN speech in full here.
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You → read → speech
I will be posting more from it soon.
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I → post → it
The Commons is still in recess, and most people in government are getting ready for the Labour conference next week, and so there is almost nothing in the Westminster diary.
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people → get → diary
But there was enough news at the UN yesterday to pad out the week, and so I’m sure there will be enough to cover.
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I → be → week
I’m afraid we are no longer able to have comments open below the line every day on this blog.
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comments → ’m → blog
If you want to contact me, please email politics.live@theguardian.com.
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you → want → politics.live@theguardian.com
You can use this email to flag up corrections, comments for publication, questions or complaints.
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You → use → questions
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