Edinburgh radio station Sputnik is Kremlin stooge, says MSP

There is growing suspicion that broadcaster is part of Vladimir Putin’s propaganda wars
Sputnik, established by a news agency that is owned by the Russian government, opened its UK bureau near Bute House in Edinburgh two years ago
Sputnik, established by a news agency that is owned by the Russian government, opened its UK bureau near Bute House in Edinburgh two years ago
GETTY IMAGES

Russians who live in Scotland and engage in “information warfare” to destabilise Britain should face having their assets seized, according to a leading MSP.

There is mounting suspicion that the Kremlin sponsored last month’s cyber attack on the Institute for Statecraft (IFS), a think-tank set up to counter Russia’s disinformation war and funded to the tune of more than £2m by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Russia’s English-speaking news channel RT (formerly known as Russia Today) and Sputnik, an internet radio station based in Edinburgh, were among the first to report details of the hack, which was mounted on November 5. It has fuelled suspicion that Russia was behind the hack and used its media outlets to amplify its impact.

Alex Cole-Hamilton, the LibDem MSP