London -- British investigative reports have revealed how Al-Masirah TV, the media arm of Yemen’s Houthi movement, was registered in London under a formal legal framework, despite its inflammatory rhetoric linked to an armed group.

According to the investigations, the channel was registered as a media company with the UK Companies House under the name Al-Masirah in September 2014, granting it a legal cover to operate within the British administrative system, despite the absence of any real media activity on the ground.

Notably, the company’s registered address is located in Hangar Lane, West London, at a modest commercial site used as a café, according to the café owner interviewed by The National. 

No evidence of actual media operations was found. Financial records further showed that the company’s assets have not exceeded £200 since its registration—an amount inconsistent with the scale of a satellite channel broadcasting continuously with regional influence.

The data indicates that the registration was merely symbolic, serving as a tool to facilitate the channel’s activities in Europe under legal cover. Similar attempts were recorded earlier, with an entity named Al-Masirah established in the UK in 2012 with higher financial assets before being dissolved, reflecting a recurring pattern of re-establishing the channel under different legal frameworks.

Investigations also pointed to indirect links between Al-Masirah and media companies previously associated with Al-Manar, the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated channel. This raises questions about the existence of an interconnected media network in Europe exploiting legal and bureaucratic loopholes to advance political and security agendas.

The issue has sparked criticism of the Yemeni embassy’s performance in London, amid questions over the absence of any active diplomatic response, despite the broadcast of a channel linked to an armed group from the heart of the British capital.