Media regulator Ofcom revokes RT's licence to broadcast in the UK
March 18, 2022, 4:44 pm

Media regulator Ofcom revokes RT's licence to broadcast in the UK

Flag of United Kingdom (File photo: Pixabay)

The Euronews reported, Britain's media regulator Ofcom has revoked the broadcasting licence for Russia's state-backed RT news channel.

Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom's chief executive, said: "Freedom of expression is something we guard fiercely in this country, and the bar for action on broadcasters is rightly set very high."

Ofcom is currently investigating 29 complaints about impartiality in RT's news and current affairs coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The channel has previously been fined £200,000 (€237,000) for breaches of impartiality rules.

Ofcom said in a statement: "We have done so on the basis that we do not consider RT’s licensee, ANO TV Novosti, fit and proper to hold a UK broadcast licence."

It added that it took into consideration a range of different factors when making their own decision about the licence: including RT’s Russian state funding and Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

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Ofcom said: "We also note new laws in Russia which effectively criminalise any independent journalism that departs from the Russian state’s own news narrative, in particular in relation to the invasion of Ukraine."

"We consider that given these constraints it appears impossible for RT to comply with the due impartiality rules of our Broadcasting Code in the circumstances."

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The channel was already blocked by YouTube and off-air in the UK due to EU sanctions against it.

Source: euronews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.