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U.K. Media Regulator Promises ‘Swift Action’ Against Propaganda After Prime Minister Orders Review of Russian News Channel’s License

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U.K. media regulator Ofcom has responded to a request from the U.K. government to review the licence of Russia-backed news channel RT, saying that it will take “swift action.”

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Responding to U.K. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries’ letter on Wednesday, the body’s chief Melanie Dawes wrote back saying: “Recognizing 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 U.K.”

“We are expediting complaints in this area as a matter of urgency and we will not hesitate to take swift action where necessary,” Dawes said. “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. As always we will be fully transparent about any investigations we open, and the outcomes of those.”

“It would not be acceptable for any of our licensees to broadcast one-sided propaganda,” Dawes added.

Earlier, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had ordered a review of the Russian-backed RT news channel’s license.

Addressing the House of Commons on Wednesday, Johnson said that Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries had asked U.K. media regulator Ofcom to review the operations of the channel, which was formerly known as Russia Today.

Johnson said: “We live in a democracy, and we live in a country that believes in free speech. And I think it’s important we leave it up to Ofcom, rather than politicians, to decide which media organizations to ban – that’s what Russia does.”

Johnson was responding to opposition leader Keir Starmer, head of the Labour Party, who had said: “Russia Today is his [Russian President Vladimir Putin’s] personal propaganda tool. I can see no reason why it should be allowed to continue broadcasting in this country.”

In her letter to Dawes, Dorries wrote that the RT channel is “demonstrably part of Russia’s global disinformation campaign.” “I have concerns that broadcasters such as RT, whom Ofcom have found to have repeatedly breached the Broadcasting Code in the past, will also look to spread harmful disinformation about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine,” Dorries added.

The move is due to the ongoing tensions between Russia and the Ukraine. On Tuesday, the U.K. imposed some sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks with links to the country, which were decried by Johnson’s detractors as too soft.

In 2019, Ofcom had fined RT £200,000 ($271,836) for breaching British broadcasting impartiality rules seven times during the 2018 Salisbury novichok poisoning incident. Russia had retaliated at the time by launching an investigation into the BBC’s Russian service.

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