Åkesson says serious claims about SD staffer must be investigated

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson says claims about a party staffer who has spread pro-Russian messages are serious and require further investigation, SVT News reports.

“There are claims that are perceived as very serious and that need to be taken seriously and examined more closely,” Åkesson said at a press conference.

Expo has reported that a female Sweden Democrats staffer in the Swedish Parliament, who has a close relationship with a senior party politician, had spread pro-Russian messages over a long period.

Åkesson said the staffer underwent a security assessment when she was hired and that nothing had emerged during those assessments. He also said the Sweden Democrats had not previously received any warnings about her connections.

Asked whether he could guarantee that no sensitive information had been leaked from the Sweden Democrats to Russia, Åkesson replied: “What kind of question is that? Seriously, we do not know.”

On Friday, the Social Democrats called Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party to an extra meeting of the parliamentary Defence Committee. The party wants him to explain what information he had and his view of the matter.

“The prime minister has overall responsibility for the Government Offices,” said Peter Hultqvist, the Social Democrats’ defence policy spokesperson.

The Social Democrats also want a security investigation into the connections between the Sweden Democrats politician and the staffer’s contacts. “It is of the utmost importance to get to the bottom of this,” Hultqvist said.

Jörgen Berglund, the Moderate Party’s group leader on the Defence Committee, told Expressen that no meeting would take place and called the request “clownish antics”.

Åkesson also dismissed Hultqvist’s initiative, calling it an “agenda-driven process”. He said the Sweden Democrats were taking the matter seriously and would take the time needed to investigate it.