On 1 August 2022, the Russian Foreign Ministry updated its list of foreigners banned from entering the country. 41 British citizens were added to the list, including 11 journalists. Thesw ere David Aaronovitch (columnist for The Times), Dan Sabbagh (Defence and security editor for The Guardian), James Crisp (Europe editor for The Daily Telegraph), David G Rose (freelancer), Caroline Wheeler (Political editor for The Sunday Times), John Ryley (Head of Sky News), Jonathon Munro (Head of BBC News), Edward Carr (Deputy editor of The Economist), Jerome Starkey (Defence and Ukraine correspondent for The Sun), Robert Peston (Political editor for ITV News), Piers Morgan (Presenter at TalkTV) and Huw Edwards (Presenter for BBC News at Ten).
The Foreign Ministry explained the decision by stating that the sanctioned individuals “support[ed] London’s stance of enmity, aiming to demonize our country and [place it under] international isolation”. The journalists targeted by the move all wrote or spoke on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow terms a “special military operation”. In June, Russia banned another 29 British media workers from entering the country.