Barack Obama warned against taking revenge on Russia for cyber attack
The outgoing US president vowed to take revenge at a “time and place of our choosing” over the hacking of Democratic officials’ e-mails during this year’s bitter White House race.
Experts have blamed the Kremlin for the web attack saying Vladimir Putin wanted his pal Donald Trump to beat rival Hillary Clinton.
Britain’s former ambassador to Russia, Sir Andrew Wood, said the President-elect had a “case to answer”.
It is “almost impossible” he would not have known about Russian hacking during the election, the ex-diplomat claimed.
Mr Obama told NPR News he confronted Mr Putin over the allegations.
Whenever a foreign government tried to interfere in US elections, the nation must take action - “and we will”, Mr Obama revealed.
He added: “Some of it may be explicit and publicised, some of it may not be.
“But Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it.”
The Kremlin rejected suggestions President Putin was involved in the hacks.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed it was “laughable nonsense”.
Ex-Chief of the Defence Staff General Lord Richards cautioned Mr Obama against launching a revenge attack.
He told the BBC: “Taking President Obama at face value - and I assume he has good evidence to substantiate his claim - then I imagine they are going to have to think very carefully about getting into some tit-for-tat operation with the Russians.
“You never really quite know where it’s going to end up; are they going to start having a go at our financial system, electricity?
“You have got to be very, very careful and that is why he has been rather cagey, I think, in choosing his words the way he has.”
Mr Trump faced accusations he knew about the Kremlin targeting the Democratic campaign.
“I think that’s almost impossible. What he actually said to Hillary Clinton in the debates was, essentially, ‘You can’t prove it - you don’t know’.
“He never said ‘This is serious, it must be investigated’.
“He did have people around him who had quite a lot to do with Russia or Ukraine. So I think there is a case to answer.”
But the incoming President’s senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, claimed it was “breathtaking” and irresponsible for the White House to suggest Mr Trump knew Russia was interfering to help his campaign.
In London, No 10 faces questions over whether Russians had used hacking to try and influence UK elections.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “There is no evidence that our elections have been interfered with in this way.
“Obviously, the reports from the US about allegations of cyber-activity by Russia are a concern.”
