UK government asks regulator Ofcom to review Russia Today's broadcast in UK
February 23, 2022, 5:42 pm

UK government asks regulator Ofcom to review Russia Today's broadcast in UK

UK-Westminster-London/Pixabay

The BBC reported, the UK government has asked media watchdog Ofcom to review the Russia Today (RT) news channel's broadcasts in the UK.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries told Ofcom the channel "is demonstrably part of Russia's global disinformation campaign" during the Ukraine crisis.

She said: "It is essential that the UK looks to limit Russia's ability to spread their propaganda at home."

Ofcom said it has "already stepped up our oversight of coverage" of the crisis by broadcasters in the UK.

The Russian foreign ministry said it would take retaliatory steps against British journalists if the UK restricts Russian media.

The Kremlin-backed channel, which is available to millions of homes in the UK, said the UK government was interfering in institutions like Ofcom that were supposedly free from political pressure.

In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the channel as the "personal propaganda tool" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and called on Boris Johnson to review its licence.

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The prime minister replied that the culture secretary "has already asked Ofcom to review that matter".

He added: "But what I will say is that we live in a in a democracy, and we live in a country that believes in in free speech. And I think it's important that we should leave it up to Ofcom rather than to politicians to decide which media organisations to ban. That's what Russia does."

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In her letter to the regulator, Ms Dorries said she was concerned that the channel would "look to spread harmful disinformation about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine here in the UK".

Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes replied: "Recognising the serious nature of the crisis in Ukraine, we have been keeping the situation under close review and have already stepped up our oversight of coverage of these events by broadcasters in the UK.

"We are expediting complaints in this area as a matter of urgency and we will not hesitate to take swift action where necessary. I am confident that we have the full range of enforcement tools at our disposal and our track record shows that when we find a breach of our rules, we can and do take action."

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On Wednesday, RT deputy editor-in-chief Anna Belkina said: "Always a joy to see Western and particularly British politicians finally drop their hypocritical disguise in favour of open interference in institutions they touted as supposedly totally independent and wholly free from political pressure and interference."

Source: BBC

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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.