MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2018) Advertisements of the United Kingdom's largest NHS online service, Pharmacy2U, shown on the RT broadcaster have met a severe backlash in the national parliament, with a Conservative lawmaker calling for action to end "lining the pockets" of the Kremlin's "mouthpiece."
During a Q&A session with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday, Richard Benyon expressed his indignation over the issue and appealed to Hunt to "have a word" with Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
"Will my Right Honorable Friend have a word with his successor as secretary of state for health and social care to ask why the NHS, Pharmacy2U, to be precise, is advertising on RT and so is lining the pockets of Putin's mouthpiece?" Benyon said.
Hunt pledged to talk with his counterpart, stressing that the issue was also something that alarmed the Foreign Office. He further cited legislation aimed at countering criminal finances, albeit without clarifying how the advertisements could actually fall under this law.
"I am very happy to have a word with my excellent successor, but of course it is something that affects us in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as well. With the unexplained wealth orders [part of Criminal Finances Act 2017] and the Proceeds of Crime Act [2002], we are starting to tighten the net on people from unfriendly regimes who are financing activities that are against our values," Hunt said.
The situation around Russian media in the West has become increasingly difficult in recent years. In November 2016, the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution to counter alleged Russian anti-EU propaganda. According to the document, media such as Sputnik and RT pose a danger to European unity, and thus extra European Commission funding is needed for counter-propaganda projects. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the resolution proved that Western democracy was failing, but expressed hope that common sense would prevail and Russian media outlets would be able to work abroad without restrictions.
A number of Western politicians, including those in the United Kingdom, the United States and France, have accused Sputnik and RT of interfering in elections and spreading propaganda, without providing any evidence. In September, UK Prime Minister Theresa May even warned members of parliament against appearing on RT, arguing that they allegedly risk being used as a "tool of propaganda for the Russian state." Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that Moscow does not meddle in other countries' affairs and pointed out that the allegations of Russia tampering with votes in other countries had been unsubstantiated.
