Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 69
Declassify and share intelligence on Wagner Network's destabilising effects with engaging countries.
Recommendation
As the Government improves its intelligence on the network, it should declassify it strategically and share it with countries that are considering engaging with the Wagner Network, to demonstrate the organisation’s destabilising effects, following the lead of the United States administration.
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees on the potential value of declassification and sharing intelligence but notes it's not always possible due to risks. It states that it has already stepped up communication channels to expose Wagner's activities to demonstrate its destabilising effects.
Paragraph Reference:
69
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
Partially agree. 52. We agree on the need to tackle Wagner, and that this will require co-ordinated action with our partners, and a mix of incentives and levers, some of which we have set out in our response to recommendations 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10. We also agree on the potential value of declassification and sharing of intelligence, though clearly it is not always possible to do so, as a result of the risks either to UK equities or to those of Allies who have shared information with the UK. Of course, countries who choose to work with Wagner are often aware of the risks from the wealth of material on the negative effects of their operations in the media, or from international bodies such as the UN. More generally, we believe that there is a real value in exposing the egregious and self-serving activities of the Wagner Group, in whatever form it may transition to, as well as other proxy Russian PMSCs, and in the last few months have stepped up both our channels for communicating on this, for example in Africa, and our use of them.