Simonyan on the call of the British shadow minister to Ofcom to reconsider the RT license: and what are we going to do with the security response?

“I am writing to you about the recently published report on Russia and its alarming conclusions regarding the role of RT and Sputnik in spreading Kremlin disinformation in the United Kingdom,” Stevens said in the message.

According to her, the report of the parliamentary intelligence and security committee "clearly outlines the problems that Ofcom already identified in 2018, when a fine of £ 200,000 was imposed on RT."

“When the High Court rejected RT’s appeal against Ofcom’s fines, Judge Dingemans announced his ruling that the biased reporting of the Russian government’s Salisbury poisoning had done“ real and potential harm. ” Now this conviction is backed up by a long-awaited report from the Intelligence and Security Committee, which exposes the role RT plays in the much broader issue of Russian influence, ”the parliamentarian said.

Stevens called for an immediate review of the granting of RT license. 

"I appeal to you with a request to Ofcom to immediately revise the broadcasting license of RT in the light of this report, as well as a request for a personal meeting with you in the near future to discuss all the questions this broadcaster raises in me," she wrote.

“We have been leaked a letter that the UK Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sports sent to Ofcom, the official INDEPENDENT media regulator. In it, the minister actually demands to deprive us of our broadcasting license ... And what are we going to do with the bibiography? " - commented Simonyan.

Earlier, the British parliamentary committee published a report on "Russian intervention", in which it accused Russia of "cyberattacks" and "dissemination of disinformation." In particular, it is alleged that the RT channel and the Sputnik agency allegedly biasedly covered the referendum on Britain's membership in the EU in 2016. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the publication "Russophobia in a fake cut."

In December 2018, the results of an investigation by Ofcom were announced, which found that RT violated the broadcasting code in seven episodes. The TV station was fined £ 200,000 for "violating the principle of impartiality."

The Russian Embassy in Britain called Ofcom's actions against RT an attempt to put pressure on the channel's editorial policy.

The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the amount of the fine raises questions and exceeds penalties against other media outlets accused of inciting hatred and violence.

In March 2020, the High Court of London rejected RT's demand to cancel the fine imposed by the British regulator.