The UK Government has refused to publish any information it holds on a shadowy Israeli firm caught meddling in the Scottish parliament elections, citing a Freedom of Information (FOI) exemption that allows documents to be withheld if they would “prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and any other state”.

On June 12, a report from the French government agency Viginum – the French service for protection against foreign digital interference – said it had detected interference in elections in Scotland, France, and New York City from a shadowy Israeli firm called BlackCore.

In Scotland, the report said that there had been a “mobilisation of at least 256 accounts” targeting First Minister John Swinney and the SNP on social media. After BlackCore was publicly named, its online presence was wiped, and the identity of those behind it has not been publicly established.