‘Are the Americans really in a position to lecture on free speech?’
The Trump administration has accused the UK of two-tier policing freedom of expression in the UK, naming racist social media posts and bans on ‘silent prayer’ outside abortion clinics as examples. Do we have a free speech crisis?
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In brief…
- A new US report claims the UK is denying “basic liberties of religious Britons" by stopping them gathering outside abortion clinics to ‘pray’ for unborn babies.
- The report parrots lines such as the UK having a two-tier criminal system, echoing the words of Nigel Farage, who has been pushing the same line since the 2024 Southport attack.
- Jon Sopel is shocked at the audacity of the criticism, given America’s recent reputation on free-speech issues, and the actions surrounding deputy president JD Vance’s visit to the Cotswolds.
What’s the story?
With zero important issues currently facing the United States of America, the Donald Trump administration has turned its attention to freedom of expression in the UK.
It’s been a major priority for vice president JD Vance, having first raised his concerns in February of this year, shortly after Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Now visiting the UK, Vance is currently nestled in the Cotswolds, where protest group Everyone Hates Elon is exercising its own freedom of expression by driving a van through the village he’s staying with a meme of the US second in command on illuminated screens on every side of the vehicle.
In the annual Human Rights report from the US state department, there is criticism of the UK for limiting freedom of expression, among other topics. It also parrots the “two-tier’ policing line that was spread widely following the Southport attacks, and subsequent riots of 2024. It has also taken particular interest in the jailing of Lucy Connelly for stirring racial hatred for tweets calling for people to set fire to migrant hotels.
The report specifically condemns what it claims are “basic liberties of religious Britons", in relation to stopping anti-abortion protesters gathering outside abortion clinics to pray, and have been accused of intimidating potentially vulnerable women.
The UK government has said it believes free speech is vital for democracy, but stressed it must also keep its citizens safe.
In the past, Vance has exercised his own freedom of expression to refer to Kamala Harris as a "miserable cat lady" and continued sharing lies about migrants eating pets, long after Trump claims had been entirely debunked.
Jon Sopel’s not buying any of it.
“Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and then banned the Associated Press from the White House briefing room because they wouldn't call it the Gulf of America,” he says.
“Are the Americans really in a position to lecture on free speech?”
What to know about the 2025 Human Rights report
Natasha Clark, LBC politics editor, has read through the 20-page report, describing it as a “short one” considering it covers every country around the world, not just the UK.
“You can absolutely feel the fingers of Trump's administration all over the language of this,” she tells Jon.
“It talks about significant human rights issues and credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression, including enforcement or threats of criminal or civil laws.
“It talks about threats of violence – motivated by anti-semitism – and it talks a lot about freedom of speech.”
The report also condemns contempt of court restrictions in the UK, which bans journalists reporting on active court cases which could jeopardise a fair trial. Many have argued that these laws are now out of date in the age of social media, when speculation and facts can be shared with, for the most part, impunity.
It also coincides with the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) issuing new guidance recommending the release of crime suspects' nationality in high profile cases. This was a factor in the 2024 Southport riots, and an incident in May when a Liverpool driver ploughed into a crowd of football fans.
“The line that really jumps out to me is this idea of two tier enforcement,” Natasha says.
“It's this idea that Nigel Farage keeps repeating that we've got two different types of law in this country and where standards are different in different cases.
“It says following the Southport attack, censorship of ordinary Britons is increasingly routine – and that doesn't feel right to me at all.”
What’s been going on in the Cotswolds?
It’s not just the JD Vance meme-van that’s been doing the rounds in the leafy towns and villages of Middle England since the Vice President (and his huge security team) touched down.
There are also reports that police have been door-knocking residents and asking for their social media handles to see if they’ve been sharing anything negative about the US or the White House administration.
“It's none of your bloody business,” Jon says.
“People do not have to give over their social media account details to see whether they are a supporter, or an opponent, of JD Vance.”
“This is such a glaring example of the ludicrous nature of this very powerful country where the vice president visits, and we've got to sing to their tune.”
Thames Valley Police have denied these reports.