Lavrov Alleges UK-Driven Information Campaign Over BBC Panorama Scandal

The Russian foreign minister linked leadership resignations at the broadcaster to what he called harmful British media coverage, citing BBC and FT reporting.

Overview

In a hybrid interview with Russian outlets, Sergey Lavrov accused London and British media of orchestrating an information campaign and called efforts to justify the BBC episode a shame.
He criticized Financial Times coverage of contacts between the Russian and U.S. foreign ministers as harmful, echoing Maria Zakharova’s earlier claim that such reporting is part of an information war.
The controversy follows the resignations of BBC director-general Tim Davie and executive Deborah Turness, announced Sunday after backlash over Panorama’s handling of Donald Trump’s January 2021 speech.
The Telegraph reported that the programme distorted the remarks in a way that created the impression Trump encouraged unrest at the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. reaction has intensified, with White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt labeling the BBC fake media and Trump calling its journalists corrupt and its leadership dishonest.