Current leader of the British opposition and Labor Party, Cyrus Starmer, asked Johnson if he agreed that it was time to reconsider granting RT a license to operate in Britain.
Starmer, in particular, said that the report on Russia presented in Britain referred to "serious distortions" that "Russian state-owned international broadcasters such as Russia Today" allegedly allow in their work.
“Mr. Speaker, I think the words of the opposition leader would have sounded more weighty if he rebuked his predecessor (Jeremy Corbin - RT ) when he received money for appearing on the air of Russia Today. Speaker, he (Starmer - RT ) did not protest either against the position of the former opposition leader on the Salisbury incident, or against his willingness to take money from Russia Today, ”Johnson replied.
At the same time, representatives of Corbin and RT note that no one paid the ex-leader of the British opposition for his participation in the air.
In turn, Starmer said that Johnson, a former columnist, "prepared two versions of each of his articles." He also added that since he took over the Labor Party, "none of its leading members have appeared on the air of Russia Today."
In October 2017, Johnson already criticized members of the Labor Party for participating in the programs of the RT channel.
In March 2018, Johnson, speaking in parliament, said that "a member of any chamber should think carefully before appearing on Russia Today," calling the channel "an obvious tool of Kremlin propaganda."
Commenting on this, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan noted that Boris Johnson's father, writer Stanley Johnson, also aired on Russia Today.