Russia Today (RT), the state-run broadcaster with one of YouTube’s most popular channels is headquartered in London. However, their UK bank, NatWest notified the broadcaster that it would no longer be providing it with services as of December. No reason was given for the decision, which would not be subject to review.
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said Monday that the bank can decide who it offers services to based on its appetite for risk.
Margarita Simonyan, Editor-in-Chief of both the English-language television news network, RT and the state-owned international news agency Rossiya Segodnya said, “Hypothetically, this may have something to do with new British and American sanctions against Russia [over Syria], which may be announced soon. It may not. Our legal department is dealing with the issue now.”
Here, film director, screenwriter & producer Oliver Stone speaks with Afshin Rattansi, RT’s host of Going Underground about the UK bank account cancellation. When asked by Rattansi what he thought this action said about press freedom in the UK, Stone replies, “RT has always been responsible…maybe you’re a threat? Maybe they consider you propagandistic – but when I read London newspapers, I wonder who’s propagandistic! It seems that it’s a media war but it’s really a shame that the truth has been sacrificed.”
