Kremlin-funded RT launches channel to give Russian take on British affairs

RT, a Kremlin-funded broadcaster lauded by President Vladimir Putin, has launched a TV news channel in Britain, promising to challenge "dominant power structures" and scrutinise the British government.

The channel said it would broadcast dedicated news and analysis about Britain examining the government's domestic and foreign policy from a different perspective.

"We'll aim to bring some truly informed debate on a tired UK television news scene dominated by corporate and vested interests," Afshin Rattansi, one of the new channel's presenters, said before the launch on Thursday.

"Slicing through the rampant corruption that stalks through public and private sector alike, RT UK will do what statutory regulators are supposed to do, hold power to account."

Putin last year described RT, formerly known as Russia Today, as a project to break what he called the Anglo-Saxon monopoly on "global information streams", saying it reflected his government's thinking on events in Russia and abroad.

RT has been hit by recent high-profile resignations. In March one of its US news anchors, Liz Wahl, resigned live on air, saying she could not be part of a network that "whitewashes the actions of Putin". RT accused her of "a self-promotional stunt".