James O'Brien's Devastating Attack On 'Corrupt' Russia

18 October 2016, 14:05

This is James O'Brien's devastating attack on Russia, calling it a "filthy, degenerate, corrupt kleptocracy".

Speaking on his LBC show, James said: "Pay attention because a lot of people are wondering why we're not talking about the Russia Today story and the fact that NatWest Bank yesterday, which is government-owned of course, acted to close Russia Today's accounts.

"I don't want to hear it. I want to hear any nonsense about freedom of speech.

"If I was delivering a message to Vladimir Putin, I'd say very simply if you want to operate a television station in our country, stop killing journalists in your own country and stop sending spies here to kill men like Andrei Litvinenko.

"The idea that we're going to get a lecture from the Russians on anything frankly, except how to run a completely corrupt kleptocracy is about as absurd as anything I've heard in the last six months and don't forget this is 2016, the most absurd year in the history of humanity.

"The idea that British people today go, 'Oh, freedom of speech, Russia Today is being closed down'. They send goons to our country to kill people with polonium. And they kill journalists in their own country. And they kill political opponents. And they put men like Sergei Magnitsky on trial after he's dead, so corrupt and bankrupt is that country.

"They want to open up a propaganda channel here and they put their money in a bank that's owned by our government, I think our government should have shut down that account years ago.

"The notion frankly that they have some sort of right to preach lies and pump out propaganda nonsense to British viewers is absolutely absurd. Freedom of speech does not involve freedom to tell bare-faced lies, freedom to support a murderous regime like Vladimir Putin's.

"So don't fall into this trap. Even a mate of mine on Facebook yesterday was banging on about it. I said I'll tell you what I'll do about it, I'll introduce you to the widow of Andrei Litvinenko, I'll introduce you to Marina Litvinenko, who I've had the privilege of meeting on a couple of occasions and you can explain to her why we get a very misrepresented picture of Russia in this country and you get a much better idea of what Russia is really like by reading undiluted horse sugar on the internet than you do from actually living there.

"Man alive, if you had to pick one issue that proves how mad we've allowed ourselves to become, it would be the notion that Russia is anything other than a filthy, degenerate, corrupt kleptocracy.

"Stick that in your Russia Today tweets and smoke it."