Ofcom Revokes RT’s UK Licence After 29 Investigations
Ofcom opened twenty‑nine separate files on RT’s Ukraine coverage in the three weeks that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. The regulator did not wait for each investigation to conclude before acting; the sheer volume of new potential breaches, combined with the introduction of fresh Kremlin censorship legislation, was deemed sufficient to determine the channel’s future in the United Kingdom.
On Friday Ofcom announced the revocation of RT’s United Kingdom broadcasting licence. The decision, made public in London, bars the Russian state‑funded outlet from British airwaves indefinitely. Even if the European Union sanctions that previously cut RT’s satellite feed were later lifted, the licence withdrawal means the channel cannot return to those distribution platforms.
The regulator concluded that the parent company, ANO TV Novosti, is “not fit and proper to hold a UK broadcast licence,” the standard Ofcom applies for serious violations. Two factors drove this judgement: the scale of the fresh violations evident across the twenty‑nine open investigations and RT’s reliance on Russian state financing while Moscow continues its war in Ukraine.
Ofcom had previously fined RT £200,000 for earlier breaches of impartiality rules. The financial penalty did not alter the broadcaster’s behaviour. In its statement accompanying the licence revocation, the watchdog said those earlier sanctions had “clearly failed” to change RT’s approach.
The core of Ofcom’s ruling goes beyond isolated accuracy complaints. Russia has enacted laws that criminalise any departure from the official narrative on the war. Journalists who characterise the assault as an invasion or who question Kremlin statements risk up to fifteen years in prison. Ofcom stated that these constraints “effectively prohibit any independent journalism.” Consequently, the regulator found that “it appears impossible for RT to comply with the due impartiality rules of our Broadcasting Code.”
This assessment means that, under the current legal environment in Russia, RT’s entire editorial operation is incapable of meeting United Kingdom impartiality standards. The failure is not limited to a single programme or story; the channel cannot function within the required rules as long as the censorship statutes remain in force.
The timing of the investigations underscores the urgency. Ofcom launched the twenty‑nine probes after the invasion began, averaging roughly one new investigation every day and a half. Rather than awaiting the outcome of each file, the regulator examined the pattern and formed a judgement about RT’s fitness to hold a licence.
Prior to the licence revocation, RT had already been taken off British screens in early March when EU sanctions severed its satellite feed. That removal was practical; the licence withdrawal is a
