ALEX Salmond has denied his Kremlin-funded RT channel is “propaganda” despite guests on his show casting doubt on Russia’s involvement in the Salisbury nerve agent attack.
The former First Minister used a monologue at the end of today’s Alex Salmond Show to defend RT, which is forced to register as an arm of the Russian state in America.
“I hold no brief for the Kremlin,” he insisted.
His critics have accused him of being a “useful idiot” for Vladimir Putin’s regime in the wake of the attack that left former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia critically ill.
Theresa May told MPs there was "no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian state was culpable" for the attack, and ordered the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats.
Alison Rowat: Leaving Russian channel only good news for Salmond
The broadcasting regulator Ofcom said earlier this week that it would consider whether RT was a “fit and proper” licensee, but later appeared to backed away from taking action.
Addressing the issue, Mr Salmond said he could “say what I like about any issue” on his show, and so could his guests, and not one of them had been silenced.
He said: “I hold no brief for the Kremlin, nor am I required to have. No one has tried to influence the content of this show in any way, shape or form whatsoever.
“By definition, RT has not been a propaganda station because it’s regulated under a UK licence by Ofcom.
“Yes, it’s had breaches of the Ofcom code, but so have Sky, ITV and the BBC.”
He said the poisoning in Salisbury was a “heinous crime” and should be condemned by all.
Alison Rowat: Leaving Russian channel only good news for Salmond
But he also said it was essential to follow the evidence and build a “cast iron” case, as UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had pointed out in the House of Commons.
“When the UK government produces their evidence, the Russian government will have no alternative but to answer,” he said.
Mr Salmond then defended his employer’s right to keep broadcasting in the UK.
He said: “Don’t shut down TV stations because your standpoint is so uncertain that you must exclude other perspectives.
“Between Monday and yesterday, the Prime Minister sensibly drew back from that proposal.
“But nor should this be attempted by indirect pressure on an independent regulator.
“To censure, would make a travesty of the concept of nation speaking unto nation, a mockery of freedom of speech. It would portray an image of a country lost in self-doubt.
“It would also strike a fatal bargain. Liberal democracies don’t succeed in international confrontations by sacrificing their dearest held values of freedom of speech.”
However his denial of propaganda was undercut by his choice of guests. After showing clips of MPs agreeing with Mrs May’s statement on Russian culpability, he said “however some commentators do not have the same degree of certainty” and introduced former MI5 officer Annie Machon.
Alison Rowat: Leaving Russian channel only good news for Salmond
In recent days, Ms Machon has appeared on RT and its sister operation Sputnik News casting doubt on Russian state involvement in the attack.
She lent credence to an RT story that the Skirpals may have been drug abusers who fell ill after taking the opioid fentanyl.
“There seems to be little motivation [for Russia] to do anything against him [Skripal]”, she said last week.
“This might just be some sort of drug incident.”
She has also previously claimed British intelligence paid to have Princess Diana killed by shining a dazzling light at her car as it entered the underpass in Paris where died in 1997.
A YouTube clip shows Ms Machon saying Diana was “taken out” because she was about to campaign on behalf of the Palestinians, which would have infuriated Israel.
She has also cast doubt on al-Qaeda being behind the 9/11 attack on New York and Washington, suggesting an American missile may have struck the Pentagon, not a plane.
She told Mr Salmond: “Of course, they [Russia] are going to suspect number one. That doesn’t mean they are suspect number one, or should be convicted by public opinion and the media.
“The key point in this investigation is to find out what Skirpal has been involved in in these last eight years, since he was relocated to the UK.
“We have a situation where a man betrayed his country for 10 years - he was working as a MI6 agent.
"He was caught, he was tried, he was convicted and he was sent to prison in Russia for that treachery. And then he was pardoned by the Russian state and released in the spy swap of 2010 for American sleeper agents including Anna Chapman.
“I don’t see that it would necessarily be related to his spy work in the past.
“I think the motive is probably going to be found in what he’s been involved in since.
“Until the forensic case has been made, until we can find the motive as to why this attack happened, I think it’s very dangerous in these diplomatically fragile times to point the finger at another state actor.”
Alison Rowat: Leaving Russian channel only good news for Salmond
Mr Salmond then interviewed the writer and broadcaster Mary Dejevsky, who suggested “rogue operators” in the Russian security services might have been “freelancing”.
She also said many people did not believe the UK government’s account.
She said: “My feeling is there’s much more questioning among the public at large, saying ‘Maybe there’s a hole in this argument. Maybe it’s not as cut and dried as people think it is, or as it’s being presented to us.’ “I think one of the origins for this is the enormous amount of mistrust that you have, among the public, for the political establishment. We’ve seen it over the last 10 years or so that people just do not trust the people who are governing them.”
Earlier, Mr Salmond interviewed the campaigner Peter Tatchell, who criticised the lack of gay rights in Russia, but who also said there was a problem in parts of the Commonwealth.
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: "Every sensible politician in Britain is backing the UK Government’s action against Russia, and condemning the Kremlin for this disgraceful act. At the same time, Alex Salmond is appearing on Russia’s state broadcaster defending Vladimir Putin.
"It’s a monumental fall from grace from someone who used to be regarded as a serious individual. He even invited the most discredited of conspiracy theorists onto his programme to back up his views.
“When he should have been condemning the Kremlin, he was fawning over a 9/11 denier. It’s clear Nicola Sturgeon is embarrassed by his actions – it’s time she had the guts to say so.”
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