RT, formerly known as Russia Today, has had all its bank accounts frozen in the UK.
In a tweet reprinted by RT, its editor in chief Margarita Simonyan said: “Our accounts in Britain have been blocked. All of them. ‘Decision not to be discussed’. Hail to freedom of speech!”Praise be to freedom of speech!”
RT was informed of the move by Natwest Bank, which said that it would no longer have it as one of its clients. In a letter, it said: “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 also said that the entire Royal Bank of Scotland Group, of which NatWest is part, would refuse to service RT.
The letter said the decision was final and that it is “not prepared to enter into any discussion in relation to it.”
RT quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as saying that it seems that in leaving the EU, London also left any freedom of speech obligations behind there.
RT has previously been sanctioned by the UK regulator Ofcom for biased coverage of the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
It has recently been reported in the Russian media that RT plans to shortly add a German language service to its portfolio.
It currently operates services in English, Spanish and Arabic.
