Theresa May promises to stop any Russian attempts to hack general election next month
Mrs May spoke about the launch of the UK's first national cyber centre during a visit to a community hall in Bristol
THERESA May vowed to block any Russian attempts to hack the general election, declaring she’ll do all in her power to ensure it’s “free and fair”.
Speaking at a community hall on a Bristol council estate, the PM said Britain’s cyber experts were working on an online ring of steel to keep hackers out.
Asked if any attempt by Vladimir Putin to meddle in next month’s vote would be seen as an “act of war”, she insisted the UK was prepared for any potential attack.
She said: “I think we should all be very clear that free and fair elections are such an important part of our democracy.
“It is not a question of looking to see what you will do after something has happened, it is actually about ensuring that we are taking steps so that people cannot interfere in our electoral process.”
Mrs May said the launch of UK’s first national cyber centre was “a very important step forward”.
She added: “That centre has already been working with all the political parties offering them advice as to how they can protect themselves against the possibility of cyber intrusion.
“As far as I am concerned we will do everything we can to ensure that the elections here in this United Kingdom are free and fair.”
Mrs May spoke on a whistlestop tour of the South West yesterday.
Earlier she’d visited a factory in St Ives and Newquay, in Cornwall.
She was snapped eating chips on the beach and on a walkabout.
But party officials came under fire for banning the local paper from filming the PM.