BBC news presenter Huw Edwards has spoken out after it was revealed he was placed on a list among other people who are banned from Russia.
The Welsh presenter reported was one of 39 people from the UK added by the Russian foreign ministry to a list of people banned from entering the Russian Federation. He responded by posting an image on Twitter of his name appearing alongside the number 39 out of 39 on the list.
In the post, he added a caption including the Welsh and Ukrainian flags, saying: "Huw’ve been banned! I made the Kremlin cut.” Other notable reports featured on the list include James Crips, the Telegraph's Europe Editor, who said he was "surprised" to find himself banned from the country.
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He wrote on Twitter: "Surprised to find myself banned from entering Russia on latest sanctions list. I taught English in Moscow for 6 months when I was 18. Loved it. Arrived just as Putin took over from Yeltsin.
“22 years later and he is still in office!”
He added: “Still. It’s always nice to have been read.”
In another tweet, he said: “To misquote Wilde – the only thing worse than being sanctioned is not being sanctioned.”
A statement from the Russian foreign ministry said it was acting in response to UK sanctions against Russians which have been implemented in response to the war in Ukraine. It said: “In connection with the continued application by the UK Government of the mechanism of sanctions, restrictions against representatives of the socio-political circles of Russia, domestic economic operators and the media, it was decided to include in the Russian ‘stop list’ a number of British politicians, businessmen and journalists who contribute to London’s hostile course aimed at the demonisation of our country and its international isolation.
“As has been noted more than once, the pernicious actions of the UK in planting Russophobia, spreading false information about our country and supporting the Kyiv neo-Nazi regime will receive an adequate and decisive response from the Russian side. The choice in favour of confrontation is a conscious decision of the British political establishment, which bears all responsibility for the consequences.”
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