--- description: British Prime Minister Theresa May has accused the Russia of "planting fake stories" to "sow discord in the West." title: British Prime Minister Accuses Russia of Sowing Discord image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6ef772df5063141/6988e5b3656a3f01b6bd2731/gettyimages-873762510.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Kingdom](/tag/united-kingdom/) ## United Kingdom Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # British Prime Minister Theresa May Accuses Russia of Sowing Discord in the West by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 14, 2017 4:19 AM CUT  Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her speech at the annual Lord Mayor's banquet on November 13, 2017 in London, England. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her speech at the annual Lord Mayor's banquet on November 13, 2017 in London, England.Leon Neal—Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 14, 2017 4:19 AM CUT British Prime Minister Theresa May has accused the Kremlin of destabilizing eastern Ukraine, mounting a campaign of cyber espionage in Europe, and “planting fake stories” to “sow discord in the West.” Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s banquet in London Monday, May’s unequivocal rebuke of Putin stands in [marked contrast](http://time.com/5020705/trump-putin-election-meddling/ "undefined") to U.S. President Donald Trump’s soft positions on Russian election interference. “I have a very simple message for Russia. We know what you are doing. And you will not succeed,” May said in the [speech.](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-to-the-lord-mayors-banquet-2017 "undefined") Since the Putin administration annexed Crimea in 2014, May said, it has stirred up further conflict in Eastern Ukraine, violated the airspace of a multiple European countries, and mounted a sustained cyber espionage campaign that includes “meddling in elections and hacking the Danish Ministry of Defense and the Bundestag among many others.” **Read more:** [_Russia ‘Pushed Fake News’ in Catalonian Independence Fight_](http://fortune.com/2017/11/10/russian-role-catalonia-independence/ "undefined") May said she that although she does not want a return to the Cold War or a state of “perpetual confrontation”, the U.K. “will do what is necessary to protect ourselves, and work with our allies to do likewise.” Her comments come in the wake of an October U.S. Senate intelligence hearing that revealed Russian electoral disinformation had reached 126 million people on Facebook alone. Senator Dianne Feinstein called the online manipulation of Americans the “beginning of cyberwarfare.” **Read more:** [_Facebook, Google, and Twitter Could’ve Prevented the Russian Ads. Why Didn’t They?_](http://fortune.com/2017/10/31/facebook-russian-ads-google-twitter-congress-hearing/ "undefined") In contrast, when questioned by journalists in Hanoi after he had chatted with Putin on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation this weekend, Trump said: “I believe that he feels that he and Russia did not meddle in the election.” He later hedged his remarks and said: “As to whether I believe it, I’m with our agencies.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5022798/theresa-may-putin-russia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5022798/theresa-may-putin-russia/"},"headline":"British Prime Minister Theresa May Accuses Russia of Sowing Discord in the West","datePublished":"2017-11-14T04:19:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:13:50.284Z","description":"Her unequivocal rebuke of Putin stands in marked contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump's soft positions","url":"https://time.com/5022798/theresa-may-putin-russia/","keywords":["United Kingdom","russia","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6ef772df5063141/6988e5b3656a3f01b6bd2731/gettyimages-873762510.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6ef772df5063141/6988e5b3656a3f01b6bd2731/gettyimages-873762510.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New Lord Mayor Hosts The Prime Minister And Archbishop For Annual Banquet","caption":"New Lord Mayor Hosts The Prime Minister And Archbishop For Annual Banquet","creditText":"Leon Neal—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-kingdom/","name":"United Kingdom"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5022798/theresa-may-putin-russia/","name":"British Prime Minister Theresa May Accuses Russia of Sowing Discord in the West"}}]}] ```