Russia has angrily accused Britain of trampling on freedom of speech after NatWest said it was closing down the bank accounts of the Kremlin TV channelRussia Today (RT).
Russian MPs, the foreign ministry, and human rights officials all condemned the move, and said the UK government was guilty of violating press freedom and of double standards. “Long live freedom of speech!”, RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan tweeted sarcastically.
Simonyan said she had received a letter out of the blue from NatWest saying that it was pulling the plug on the broadcaster’s accounts from mid-December.
“We have recently undertaken a review of your banking arrangements with us and reached the conclusion that we will no longer provide these facilities,” it said. The decision was final, the letter added.
But after several hours of confusion the Treasury said it had nothing to do with NatWest’s move. Sources said the decision to deny RT banking services was made independently by NatWest, and apparently without any official consultation.
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