Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport, what recent discussions her Department had held with Ofcom on revoking the licences of Russian state-backed broadcasters.

Broadcasting regulation is a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom. The Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom on 23 February setting out her concerns over Russian propaganda following the crisis in Ukraine. Ofcom responded on the same day, informing the Secretary of State that it had already stepped up its oversight of coverage of these events by broadcasters in the UK, in recognition of the serious nature of the crisis in Ukraine.

We welcome Ofcom’s decision to revoke RT’s licence to broadcast in the UK so that Putin can no longer spread insidious propaganda on UK television. We will not hesitate to take any necessary action against key individuals and bodies responsible for disseminating misinformation and are exploring options to stop the spread of such material in the UK.