UK taxpayers take stake in Kremlin’s TV satellites
TAXPAYERS will become shareholders in a French satellite business accused of broadcasting Russian propaganda as part of the multibillion-pound merger of Oneweb and Eutelsat.
Oneweb, which was bailed out by Boris Johnson in 2020, is being taken over by Eutelsat, a Paris-listed satellite company that operates communications and TV satellites.
The French company, which has a network of 36 satellites, has been accused of failing to stop broadcasts of Russian TV channels that have faced claims of being “spearheads of the Russian war propaganda machine” to 15m homes. The French state has a 20pc stake in Eutelsat.
But Eva Berneke, Eutelsat chief executive, yesterday said the broadcasts were “linked to the Eutelsat policy of neutrality” and that it would “continue to broadcast together with our three Russian customers”.
Eutelsat has faced pressure from activists to cut off its Russian business.
Reporters Without Borders said the channels carried by Eutelsat “constantly broadcast disinformation that, in effect, condones war crimes, incites violence and hatred, and legitimises the Russian army’s war of aggression in Ukraine”.
The decision to carry on broadcasting comes despite Russia banning Oneweb from launching its rockets from a cosmodrome controlled by the Kremlin in Kazakhstan in March.
Neil Masterson, Oneweb’s chief executive, was placed on the Kremlin’s list of sanctioned persons and is banned from visiting Russia.
Ms Berneke defended Eutelsat’s Russian business, saying its broadcasts were mostly “entertainment, sports and children’s channels” and that it had already blocked TV channels that had been subject to formal sanctions by the European Union. Her comments came as Eutelsat and Oneweb confirmed that a merger between the French and British businesses would go ahead.
The deal will see Oneweb shareholders, who include the taxpayer, issued 230 million Eutelsat shares. Shares in Eutelsat plunged 17pc on Monday on news of the deal. Oneweb is expected to require up to $3bn (£2.5bn) in further investment, spooking shareholders in the French company.