Western diplomats in Georgia on Tuesday joined in the mounting condemnation of a fake newscast of a Russian invasion, saying the bizarre incident raised questions about media independence. The report, aired by a channel with close links to President Mikheil Saakashvili, sparked a brief panic and has faced a chorus of domestic and international criticism. The British and French ambassadors to Georgia in particular denounced the report's use of images of them from archived footage as Western governments were quoted as responding to the 'invasion.' Britain's ambassador Denis Keefe said the incident was 'reflecting badly on Georgia's reputation for responsible and independent media.' He denounced the channel's use of archived footage of him as 'deeply misleading' and called on Imedi to make it clear that the footage 'was used without my consent or knowledge.' France's ambassador Eric Fournier denounced the report as 'completely irresponsible' in particular for claiming that some opposition politicians had joined invading Russian forces. 'We must denounce the link made by this crude report between the activities of certain opposition parties and 'threats to national security,'' he said. The report had earlier been condemned by both Russia and Georgia's chief ally the United States, with US ambassador to Tbilisi John Bass saying it did not meet journalistic standards. The report -- aired Saturday night on Imedi television -- said Russian tanks were headed for the capital Tbilisi, that Saakashvili had been killed and that some opposition leaders had sided with invading forces. The report showed footage taken from the August 2008 war that saw Russian forces pour into Georgia and bomb targets across the country in response to a Georgian attempt to retake the Moscow-backed rebel region of South Ossetia. After initially appearing to defend the report, Saakashvili finally rebuked the channel on Monday, saying the newscast was 'meaningless and even harmful.' 