British Embassy in Georgia distancing itself from BBC, stating that broadcaster is independent of British Gov't

The British Embassy in Georgia is distancing itself from the BBC and states that the broadcaster is independent of the British Government in terms of both operational and editorial activities. The Embassy's comment is reported by Radio Free Europe.

With this comment, the Embassy is responding to the call from the Head of the Georgian Government Irakli Kobakhidze for the BBC to apologize for its journalistic investigation.

“The BBC is independent of the British Government in both operational and editorial terms, and this is a matter for the corporation itself to decide”, the Embassy told Radio Free Europe.

The Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday stated that “Britain must apologize for the fake story. We will use all legal avenues to make the BBC apologize for the lie it spread”.

The BBC published an investigative article claiming that the Georgian authorities deployed a chemical substance dating back to World War I during protests in 2024.

The Georgian Government rejected the allegations and announced legal proceedings against the BBC in international courts.