The BBC has written to Russian authorities amid concerns about an apparent leak of personal information about its staff based in Moscow.
The Guardian reported last week that details of 44 journalists working for the broadcaster in Russia were posted on a social media network.
The information was then reprinted by a Russian news website with photographs from the journalists’ social media profiles.
BBC World Service director Jamie Angus (pictured) said: “The BBC has asked the Russian authorities to investigate this worrying development.
“The welfare and security of our staff in Moscow is our overriding concern.
“Our long-standing news operations in Moscow are of great value to our audiences in the UK and around the world.
“We have always operated in Russia in full compliance with the country’s laws and regulations.
“That is why it is particularly troubling to us that private staff information which we have shared with Russian authorities as part of our lawful operation in Russia has been disclosed in this way.”
The apparent leak came days after the Sunday Times published the names and photos of staff working at Kremlin-backed radio station Sputnik’s UK bureau based in Edinburgh.
The sharing of someone else’s private personal information online is known as “doxxing”.
Last month Russia’s media watchdog announced it was opening an investigation into the BBC, a day after UK broadcast regulator Ofcom ruled that RT (formerly Russia Today) had breached its broadcasting code.
RT is also owned and funded by the Russian state.
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