China lodges complaint with BBC over COVID-19 coverage

© Reuters/HENRY NICHOLLSPedestrians walk past a BBC logo at Broadcasting House, as the corporation announced it will cut around 450 jobs from its news division, in London

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry on Thursday said it had lodged "stern representations" to the British Broadcasting Corp over what it said was "fake news" coverage of COVID-19, and urged the broadcaster to publicly apologise.

In a statement, a ministry spokesperson said that the BBC had recently "linked the pandemic to politics" and "rehashed theories about covering up by China".

The statement was issued shortly after UK media regulator Ofcom announced that it had revoked China Global Television Network's (CGTN) licence to broadcast in the UK.

(Reporting by Tony Munroe)