BORIS WARNS OF HACK RISK Putin cyber threat to June 8 vote

BORIS Johnson has said Russia could hack the General Election.

The Foreign Secretary warned president Vladimir Putin would “rejoice” if Jeremy Corbyn took power.

He said it was clear the Russian leader was behind cyber attacks on the recent US and French elections to “undermine faith in democracy altogether and to discredit the whole democratic process”.

Asked if he feared Russian influence on June 8, Mr Johnson said: “I think it is a realistic possibility.

“Clearly, we think that is what he did in America – it’s blatantly obvious that’s what he did in France. In the western Balkans he is up to all sorts of sordid enterprises, so we have to be vigilant.

“Putin would rejoice to see British defences weakened, Britain’s foreign policy become less active, to see us detached from the United FELICITY CROSS States. That would be absolute grist to Putin’s mill, that would be just what he wants.”

His warning came as it was revealed that the Government’s communications HQ had written to major political parties advising on how to block hacking.

GCHQ said internal databases of voters’ views and personal details, as well as internal emails, could be at risk.

As a poll gave the Tories a 15 point lead over Labour, Theresa May announced plans to protect social media users.

A “right to innocence” to stop teens being dogged by youthful indiscretions online will be introduced. And firms will be forced to take action to stop search terms directing users to sites promoting porn or hatred.

Under reforms to curb internet dangers, the Prime Minster said firms such as Facebook would, on request, be forced to wipe the records of users before they reached the age of 18.

Mrs May said: “The internet has brought a wealth of opportunity, but also significant new risks which have evolved faster than society’s response to them.

“We want social media companies to do more to help redress the balance and will take action to make sure they do.

“These measures will help make Britain the best place in the world to start and run a digital business, and the safest place in the world for people to be online.”

It is hoped the move will help stop children stumbling on porn. Some adult channels feature X-rated videos with titles which play on the names of films and characters.

The measure would also include hate speech and other sites that could be harmful to youngsters.