Russia Today and other broadcasters must not put out “one-sided propaganda” over the Ukraine crisis, Britain’s regulator said on Wednesday.
Ofcom responded to a suggestion from Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries that it should review RT’s licence given its coverage of the conflict.
In response, Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said: “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.”
She added: “Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code, which reflects the rules established by Parliament in the Communications Act, requires all licensees to ensure that news – in whatever form – is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality.
“It is acceptable for broadcasters to present issues from a particular perspective provided that alternative views and opinions are also represented. It would not be acceptable for any of our licensees to broadcast one-sided propaganda.”
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused RT of being Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “personal propaganda tool”.
Amid fears that the Kremlin is on the brink of launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Labour leader said: “We must ...do more to defeat Putin’s campaign of lies and disinformation.
“Russia Today is his personal propaganda tool.
“I can see no reason why it should be allowed to continue to broadcast in this country.
“So will the Prime Minister now ask Ofcom to review its licence.”
Mr Johnson responded: “I believe the Culture Secretary has already asked Ofcom to review that matter.”
However, he also stressed: “We live in a democracy and a country that believes in free speech.
“It’s important that we should leave it up to Ofcom rather than for politicians to decide which media organisations to ban.
“That is what Russia does.”
In her letter to Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries stressed a free media is a "cornerstone" of democracy and emphasised the importance of an independent broadcast regulator.
"However, we know that certain states seek to exploit and undermine our open system through disinformation and by other means. The Russian Government is conducting an aggressive set of information operations against Ukraine and NATO in a transparent and shameful attempt to justify their renewed military action against Ukraine.
"RT is demonstrably part of Russia’s global disinformation campaign."
She added that the Kremlin is "reliant on disinformation and mistrust to seek to gain the upper hand" in the war of words over Ukraine.
She also emphasised: "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 here in the UK. Something RT has previously done in its biased reporting of the Salisbury poisonings and the conflict in Syria."
She stressed that she welcomed Ofcom’s statements that it recognises the seriousness of the Ukraine crisis and that examining complaints about any broadcasters’ news coverage is a priority.
"While respecting Ofcom’s regulatory independence, I call on you to ensure your actions are timely and transparent to reassure the British public," she added.
"It remains essential that Ofcom keeps the situation very carefully under review in such sensitive times and takes action where necessary."
Meanwhile, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said TV channel RT should be barred from broadcasting in the UK.
In 2018, Ofcom found the Kremlin-backed broadcaster guilty of “a serious failure” of impartiality over its coverage following the Salisbury nerve gas attack.
Three years earlier, the regulator also reprimanded RT with a ruling that its coverage of the wars in Ukraine and Syria breached rules on accuracy and impartiality.
Anna Belkina, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, RT, said on Wednesday: “RT’s operational and editorial independence from all governments is legally protected and always has been. Ofcom recognizes this and has long-endorsed RT as a license holder. Even in the face of undue political pressure it has continuously found RT to be in line with other UK broadcasters, without a single breach of broadcasting Code to be found in the last 4 years - not something that can be said about many other channels in the country.
“Yet UK politicians are now openly and brazenly interfering in institutions they have long touted as supposedly independent and wholly free from political pressure, exposing their self-proclaimed commitment to such values as free speech and regulatory independence as nothing but a sham.”
