The UK government has asked its media regulator to consider banning Russia's state television broadcaster Russia Today (RT). In a letter to Ofcom, the culture, media and sport minister Nadine Dorries said that the network was part of Russia's global disinformation campaign and that she feared it "would look to spread harmful disinformation about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine here in the UK."

Ofcom is independent of the British government but has recently been engulfed in controversy over accusations that Boris Johnson's administration attempted to shoehorn an ally into the regulator's top job. It has the power to fine or block broadcasters from operating in the UK. 

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The Ukraine crisis

RT said Dorries' letter further undermined the credibility of the regulator, "The UK culture minister is now clearly directly interfering in institutions touted as supposedly wholly free from political pressure and influence," Anna Belkina, RT's deputy editor in chief, told Reuters.

In her letter, Dorries said that she supported the freedom of the media but urged Ofcom to respond to her request in a "timely and transparent manner". 

In response, Ofcom said it would prioritize all investigations into broadcasters' coverage of the situation in Ukraine. 

"It would not be acceptable for any of our licensees to broadcast one-sided propaganda," the regulator said in a statement.