Over the past week or so, the British political and media establishment has expressed widespread criticism of the decision by Alex Salmond, former First Minister of Scotland, to front a weekly political chat show on RT.

Salmond himself, by contrast, has taken pains to stress his editorial independence, and the independence of the  production company producing the show.

So what is the truth of the matter?

Professors Stephen Hutchings and Vera Tolz discuss the Salmond-RT “marriage of convenience” in their recent piece for The Conversation.