Setting the groundwork for rejoining the EU without losing face.
This was never in doubt amongst anyone credible/not being paid to obfuscate and turn the sideshow into something important.
The actual debate was always wether it mattered Vs all the other times they interfere and all the actors interfering. And then the question is what to do something about it. Previous government spent all the time sending media around in circles quibbling about process.
Compare this with coverage at the time https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36117907 with the headline
> Backlash after Barack Obama EU referendum intervention
Ten years on, people have forgotten allowing politicians to change the past from "US interfered" to "Russia interfered".