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NatWest freezes Russia Today's bank accounts in the UK | |
(35 minutes later) | |
NatWest bank has frozen the accounts of state-run broadcaster Russia Today (RT), its editor-in-chief says. | |
Margarita Simonyan tweeted: "They've closed our accounts in Britain. All our accounts. 'The decision is not subject to review.' Praise be to freedom of speech!" | Margarita Simonyan tweeted: "They've closed our accounts in Britain. All our accounts. 'The decision is not subject to review.' Praise be to freedom of speech!" |
RT says the bank gave no explanation for its decision. | |
It said the entire Royal Bank of Scotland Group, of which NatWest is part, was refusing to service RT. | |
The broadcaster says NatWest wrote to its London office, saying: "We have recently undertaken a review of your banking arrangements with us and reached the conclusion that we will no longer provide these facilities." | |
The bank said its decision was final and it is "not prepared to enter into any discussion." | |
Are we entering a new Cold War? | |
Ofcom backs BBC in Russian TV case | |
He added that in order to "keep the pressure up", further sanctions against the Syrian regime "and their supporters" would be considered. | |
RT, which is run by the Kremlin, has previously been sanctioned by Ofcom for biased reporting. | |
This included claims that the BBC "staged" a chemical weapons attack for a news report on Syria. | |
The BBC won a case against the TV channel after complaining to Ofcom, saying the allegations made in a programme called The Truthseeker were false and struck "at the heart" of its obligations to accuracy and impartiality. | |
Ofcom ruled that elements of the programme were "materially misleading". |