LABOUR has stepped up its calls for the broadcast watchdog to review the operating licence of Russian news outlet RT.
The move comes after Labour’s shadow culture secretary Jo Stevens wrote to regulator Ofcom in the wake of the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report into the role of the Russian state in UK politics.
Stevens told the BBC: “It is not for the Labour Party to say whether or not RT should be banned.
“We want Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to look at the role of RT in the light of the Intelligence and Security Committee report.
She continued: “Ofcom has an ongoing duty to be satisfied that broadcasting licensees remain fit and proper to hold their licences.
“We are talking here about a state-owned broadcaster that has basically breached the Ofcom code over 20 times since it’s been airing in Britain.
“I know RT will say that we are trying to clamp down on free speech, but I absolutely reject that accusation.”
Labour highlighted RT reporting of the Novichok attack in Salisbury as a concern.
RT deputy editor in chief Anna Belkina defended the broadcaster. She said: “Ofcom itself has stated that RT’s record is in line with that of other broadcasters in the UK.
“And, in fact, we have breached the code fewer times than a lot of the British channels. We have not had a single case, a single breach, in the last two years.”
Asked if RT accepted there was evidence of the Novichok attack in Salisbury, Belkina said there are still “many questions” around the incident.
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