The Tehran-backed channel, Press TV has had its UK licence revoked with immediate effect.
Broadcasting standards watchdog Ofcom said that in the course of correspondence and meetings in recent months with Press TV, it had not been satisfied that “the licensee had general control over which programmes and other services” were shown on the channel.
Last month the channel was fined £100,000 for multiple breaches of its code following the broadcast of an interview with a jailed Newsweek journalist in July 2009. An investigation found that the programme breached Ofcom’s standards on fairness and privacy.
Press TV launched in 2007 and is funded by the Iranian government. It boasts of brodacsting in English “round the clock” to nearly 10 million British homes, with presenters past and present including George Galloway, Lauren Booth and Yvonne Ridley.
