Three Democratic Unionist Party MPs have been added to Russia’s “stop list” which bans them from entering the country, the Russian foreign ministry has said.
In a move Moscow described as a response to western sanctions and the “spreading of false information about Russia”, 29 journalists and members of British media organisations were personally banned from the country.
In addition, a further 20 people “associated with the defence complex” were also banned, including DUP politicians Gregory Campbell, Gavin Robinson and Sammy Wilson.
The list of those banned includes high-profile journalists, news anchors, editors and senior managers at news organisations such as the BBC, Channel 4 and broadcaster Sky News.
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The editors-in-chief of the Daily Telegraph, the Times, Guardian newspapers and Independent were also banned.
“The British journalists included in the list are involved in the deliberate dissemination of false and one-sided information about Russia and events in Ukraine and Donbas,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
“With their biased assessments, they also contribute to fuelling Russophobia in British society.”
The Guardian has condemned the move by Russia, stating it is “disappointing” and a “bad day for press freedom”.
“Trusted, accurate journalism is more important now than ever, and despite this decision we will continue to report robustly on Russia and on its invasion of Ukraine,” a Guardian spokesman said.
Some of the people named on the defence list include members of staff from Thales UK, a company based in Belfast that designs and builds electrical systems and provides services for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security markets.
Jeremy Quin, the British deputy secretary of defence, Benjamin Key, the head of the Royal Navy, Michael Wigston, the head of the RAF and Charles Stickland, the commander of joint operations of the UK armed forces were also added to the “stop list”.
“People associated with the defence complex of Great Britain are involved in making decisions on the supply of weapons to Ukraine, which are used by local punishers and Nazi formations to kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure,” the ministry said.
“Work on expanding the Russian ‘stop list’ will continue.”
Three weeks ago, Russia permanently banned nearly 1,000 Americans, including President Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris, from entering the country in response to United States support of Ukraine.
