Bicom behind UK Press TV ban

Bicom behind UK Press TV ban

The Zionist Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre (Bicom) has collaborated with the state-controlled British Office of Communications (Ofcom) to ban the alternative English-language channel Press TV in the UK, a political analyst says.

An Iranian lawmaker has described the recent decision by the state-controlled British Office of Communications (Ofcom) to ban the alternative English-language television network, Press TV, in the UK as a crackdown on freedom of expression.

“With anti-Iran sabotage activities high on its agenda, Bicom has worked closely with Ofcom towards eliminating a critical voice: Press TV,” Ismail Salami, Iranian author and Middle East expert, wrote in an article published on Press TV on Sunday. Ofcom revoked Press TV's license and removed the channel from the Sky platform on January 20 for what it claimed to be the news network's breach of the Communications Act. The British media regulator also served Press TV's London office with an order to pay a 100,000-pound fine. “An office with intimate ties to the [British] Royal Family, Ofcom has issued the verdict under the sway of some influential parties in the government and the Bicom firm to boot,” Salami added. He went on to explain the activities and objectives of the Israeli-sponsored company, pointing out that as a “London-based” organization “tasked with inseminating the Zionist political ideology, Bicom also funds those who are in one way or another involved with anti-Iran activities.” “Apart from garnering support for the Zionist regime among Britons, the office also serves as a bridge between the Mossad and MI6,” with its current head, Lorna Fitzsimons, a member of the parliamentary lobby group Labor Friends of Israel (LFI), Salami elucidated. The Iranian author also pointed to the October 2011 scandal over Adam Werritty -- an “influential member” of Bicom and “an unofficial chief of staff” to the former British Defense Minister Liam Fox -- and his efforts to subvert the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Werritty was financially backed by murky sources such as Bicom. And he was considered an influential member of the organization and a highly regarded agent for Mossad,” he noted. “Reports also suggest that Werritty had regularly met Iranian anti-government groups, Israeli agents and right-wing US groups with a long-standing interest in subverting [Iranian] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and overthrowing the Islamic government,” Salami elaborated. The British media regulator Ofcom is also said to have close ties to Britain's royal family. The cables released by the whistleblower website Wikileaks show that Press TV's programs on the royal wedding, which many in the country described as extravagant, angered the royal family. The Middle East expert noted that, “With the closure of Press TV's office in London and the removal of the channel from the Sky platform, Britain is now deluded into believing that her efforts have resulted in splendid fruits and that she has been able to gratify the whims of the Zionists.”