UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Keir Starmer have exchanged verbal fire in parliament over none other than RT’s UK broadcasting license. During the spat, the pair accused each other of being soft on Moscow.
Passionate debates broke out in the House of Commons over the recent ‘Russia report’ released by the Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC). The report called Moscow “an established threat” and accused the Kremlin of waging widespread influence campaigns on Britain. Labour MPs quickly seized on the opportunity to lambaste the Tories for supposedly turning a blind eye to Russia’s activities.
Starmer urged the government to crack down on what he said were “serious distortions in the coverage” provided by RT, which he labeled “Kremlin-backed disinformation.” He then asked Johnson if he agrees that “it’s time to look again at the licensing” for RT to continue operating in the UK.
The PM responded by dismissing Starmer and attacking his predecessor, former Labour Party chief Jeremy Corbyn, for the grave crime of appearing as a guest on RT.
“I think this would come more credibly from the leader of the opposition, had he called out the former leader of the opposition when he took money for appearing on Russia Today,” Johnson said. Perhaps the PM missed the fact that his own father, Stanley Johnson, has also appeared as a guest on RT in the past.
Johnson further blasted Starmer for staying “nothing” while the Labour Party allegedly “parroted the line of the Kremlin” following the poisoning of the Skripals — an incident for which the British government instantly blamed — and continues to blame — Moscow. The Kremlin has adamantly denied involvement in the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in 2018.
The ISC Russia report follows the now all-too familiar Western government tactic of blaming Russia for internal domestic strife. It accuses Moscow of meddling in British elections, as well as the Scottish independence and Brexit votes. Johnson’s government maintains, however, that there is “no evidence of successful interference” in the Brexit vote. Russia has categorically denied attempting to sway UK elections at all.
Moscow officials have rejected the findings of the latest report, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov labeling them “a new round of evidence-free allegations” against Russia.
Also on rt.com ‘Nothing sensational. Fake-shaped Russophobia’: Moscow brushes aside UK report on Russian interferenceIn one of the latest and most bizarre accusations leveled at Moscow, London accused Russian government-backed hackers of trying to steal Covid-19 vaccine research from British scientists — despite the fact that there's already a deal in place for the Oxford-based AstraZeneca vaccine to be produced in Russia.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!