Russia Today removed from Sky TV amid clampdown on Putin’s ‘propaganda machine’

It comes after the EU announced it would ban the Russian state-backed channel

Russian state-backed news channel Russia Today will be removed from Sky TV in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At the weekend, the European Union announced it would ban the channel RT.

Sky receives its RT broadcast from a European satellite operator which has been told to pull the plug.

Britain’s culture secretary Nadine Dorries said it will mean Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “polluting propaganda machine” would have “severely restricted access into British homes via our TV screens.”

It comes after Google banned the YouTube channels of RT and Russian state-backed news outlet Sputnik in Europe.

Visitors saw a message reading: “This channel is not available in your country”.

Facebook owner Meta made a similar announcement on Monday.

UK media regulator Ofcom said it has launched 15 investigations into RT’s coverage of the invasion of Ukraine.

The government asked it to review RT’s UK broadcasts last week, saying the channel “is demonstrably part of Russia’s global disinformation campaign”.

Ofcom has the power to revoke broadcast licences.

This map shows the extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

Its chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said: “Given the scale and gravity of the crisis in Ukraine, audiences expect to be able to trust and rely on duly impartial broadcast news.

“When reporting on an armed conflict, we recognise it can be difficult for broadcasters to verify information and events - but it is imperative that they make every effort to do so.

“They must also explain clearly to audiences where there is uncertainty or where events are disputed.”

But earlier this week foreign secretary Liz Truss warned of the risk of banning RT altogether.

She told the House of Commons: “The reality is that if we ban RT in the United Kingdom, that is likely to lead to channels like the BBC being banned in Russia.

“What we want is the Russian population to hear the truth about what Vladimir Putin is doing, so there’s a very careful judgment to be made.”