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Russian involvement in Brexit shows democracy is "under siege", Hillary Clinton declared last night.

The former First Lady, who lost the Presidential race to Donald Trump amid Russian hacking claims, made the dramatic statement on a visit to the UK.

On the eve of a major speech, Mrs Clinton said democracy is "under siege".

"I don't understand why the press, the political establishment and the public are so reluctant to call out what the Russians have been doing," she said.

"What they did in Brexit , what they did in the United States."

(Image: Charles Coates)

She added: "As we learn more about the role that (Vladimir) Putin, oligarchs around him, the Russian government particularly, the intelligence forces have played, we see that it's not just what they did in our election in the United States.

"They have been actively supporting right wing political parties and politicians."

Mrs Clinton will deliver a keynote address at a conference marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The former US first lady, who lost the race for the White House to Donald Trump in 2016, will speak at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at the University of Oxford.

The conference is called Confronting Illiberalism: The Role Of The Media, Civil Society And Universities.

(Image: Getty Images North America)

Mrs Clinton said the "list" of Russian interference "is really long now", adding: "The internet has given them a great advantage because they are able to sow discontent, divisiveness and false information incredibly easily."

She added: "It's only going to get worse, and this is something that I think everybody needs to pay attention to.

"The technology has advanced so much that it's not only the false stories that the phoney news services are now directing at your Facebook feed, it will be taking the words you say out of many different contexts and putting it together to say something you never said."

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, former principal of Mansfield College, joined Mrs Clinton in conversation on the role that women have played in promoting and protecting human rights.

Mrs Clinton unveiled a statue of America's war time first lady Eleanor Roosevelt outside the institute and became an honorary fellow of Mansfield College.