Ofcom revokes Russia's RT licence in UK with immediate effect

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Ofcom has revoked Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT 's UK licence with immediate effect. The TV watchdog said RT's licensee, ANO TV Novosti, is "not fit and proper" to hold a licence amid 29 ongoing investigations into the "due impartiality" of its programmes.A statement released by the regulator on Friday said: "We consider the volume and potentially serious nature of the issues raised within such a short period to be of great concern - especially given RT's compliance history, which has seen the channel fined £200,000 for previous due impartiality breaches. "In this context, we launched a separate investigation to determine whether ANO TV Novosti is fit and proper to retain its licence to broadcast." Ofcom said the decision to suspend the licence came amid ongoing investigations into RT's news and current affairs coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson also having previously called for an Ofcom review.

RT is currently off air in the UK due to sanctions imposed.Last month former First Minister Alex Salmond suspended his show on the channel over the war in Ukraine.The Alex Salmond Show was produced by Slainte Media, whose principal activity is described in official listings as “motion picture, television, and other theatrical casting activities”.Salmond and co-host Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh were co-owners between 2018 and 2020, but the latter is now the major shareholder.Ofcom said it noted new laws in Russia which "effectively criminalise any independent journalism that departs from the Russian state's own news narrative", particularly in relation to the invasion of Ukraine.It added: "We consider that, given these constraints, it appears impossible for RT to comply with the due impartiality