Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of Russian-backed media transmitting on the radio frequency previously occupied by the BBC World Service's Arabic station in Lebanon on British influence in the region.

The BBC is editorially and operationally independent and makes its own decisions about where to broadcast, audiences to reach and content. The BBC Arabic language service continues to operate and reaches a weekly average audience of 35 million people across the Middle East and North Africa and more widely.

Russia's disinformation tactics are well-documented. It is using disinformation and other malign tactics to advance its influence, sow discord and undermine global rules and norms worldwide.

HMG works with diverse media outlets that represent different perspectives across MENA aiming to mitigate Russia's influence. This also includes working with digital and traditional media platforms as well as radio, ensuring all media are covered.