London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Russia tells BBC journalist to go home in row with Britain -state TV

Russia tells BBC journalist to go home in row with Britain -state TV

Russia has told a BBC journalist working in Moscow to leave the country by the end of this month in retaliation for what it called London's discrimination against Russian journalists working in Britain, state TV reported late on Thursday.
In an unusual move that signals a further deterioration in already poor ties between London and Moscow, the Rossiya-24 TV channel said that Sarah Rainsford, one of the British broadcaster's two English-language Moscow correspondents, would be going home in what it called "a landmark deportation".

The step, a de facto expulsion, follows a crackdown before parliamentary elections in September on Russian-language media at home that the authorities judge to be backed by malign foreign interests intent on stoking unrest.

"Being expelled from Russia, a country I've lived in for almost 1/3 of my life - and reported for years - is devastating. Thank you for all your kind messages of support," Rainsford wrote on Twitter.

Rossiya-24 said Russian authorities had decided against renewing Rainsford's accreditation to work as a foreign journalist in Moscow beyond the end of this month when her visa expires.

The move was a response to London's refusal to renew or issue visas to Russian journalists in Britain, it said.

The channel cited Britain's treatment of state-backed Russian broadcaster RT and of online state news outlet Sputnik, saying neither could get accredited in Britain to cover international events.

"Sarah Rainsford is going home. According to our experts, this correspondent of Moscow's BBC bureau will not have her visa extended because Britain, in the media sphere, has crossed all our red lines," Rossiya-24 said.

"The expulsion of Sarah Rainsford is our symmetrical response," it said.

Tim Davie, the BBC's director-general, called her expulsion "a direct assault on media freedom, which we condemn unreservedly."

"We urge the Russian authorities to reconsider their decision. In the meantime, we will continue to report events in the region independently and impartially," he said.

Rainsford did not reply to a request for comment. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry (MFA), said BBC representatives had been at the ministry in recent days and that everything had been explained to them in detail.

Zakharova said Moscow had warned London many times that it would respond to what she called visa-related persecution of Russian journalists in Britain.

"We reject the MFA's claims of discriminatory action against Russian journalists in the UK," the British embassy in Moscow said in a statement, adding that Russian journalists continue to work freely in the UK if they act within the law and the regulatory framework.

"We urge them to reconsider this retrograde step against an award-winning BBC journalist which can only do further damage to media freedom in Russia."

Rainsford is part of a team that supplies the British public service broadcaster's English-language outlets with content about Russia and the former Soviet Union. The BBC also operates a large Russian-language service in Moscow.

Rainsford, a Russian speaker, is an experienced BBC foreign correspondent who has also done stints in Havana, Istanbul and Madrid.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
×