Ukip MEP David Coburn has offered his support to a Russian TV network which has had its bank accounts frozen in the UK.

Russia Today, which was rebranded RT in 2009, has had its accounts in the UK frozen by NatWest.

In a letter to the network, the bank states no member of the Royal Bank of Scotland group, which NatWest is part of, will handle the channel's accounts.

The letter goes on to state the decision is "final" and the bank will not enter into "any discussions" regarding it.

In a series of tweets, Coburn has offered his support to the controversial media group.

The MEP pledged to "do everything" to support RT and that if people wished to listen to a government mouthpiece they should "tune into [the] BBC".

RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan tweeted: "They closed our accounts in Britain. All of them. 'Decision not to be discussed'. Long live freedom of speech!."

The network was founded by the Kremlin and the channel receives funding from the Russian government.

RT insists it is merely a news channel offering an alternative to established Western media.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, while insisting RT was "absolutely independent", has admitted: "The channel is funded by the government so it cannot help but reflect the Russian government's official position on the events in our country and in the rest of the world one way or another."

Last year, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom found the channel breached its regulations four times, one of which falsely alleged the BBC staged a chemical weapons attack in Syria.

In August, Russian state-funded radio station Sputnik opened a bureau in Edinburgh.

Last week Pravda, the former state-funded newspaper of the Soviet Union, announced it will open an online bureau in Edinburgh from January to increase Russian influence within the UK.

The organisation's UK editor Oliver Haste said: "I think it is fair to say that Russia does wish to have more influence in the media environment in the UK but I don't think this should be seen in the context of a cold war propaganda campaign.

"It's important to have a counterbalance to the US-administration-led consensus regarding the Middle East.

"We broadly believe that Russian foreign policy in the Middle East has been ­correct... Our support of the Russian government is not due to blind nationalism but because their policy in the Middle East has been proven to be wiser."

STV News has approached Coburn for further comment.