Vance bashes UK censorship — this time with gaslighting prime minister just feet away

Vice President JD Vance put other Western nations on blast earlier this month at the Munich Security Conference over their aggressive suppression of speech and routine attacks on religious liberties. Vance noted that when it comes to Britain, free speech "is in retreat," citing as an example British Army veteran Adam Smith-Connor's conviction and fining last year for silent prayer.

The vice president proved again Thursday that he is no shrinking violet, reissuing his critique of the U.K.'s censorship regime — this time face-to-face with leftist British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office.

A reporter asked about Vance's previous suggestion that the U.K. and European nations are backsliding on what were once shared values with the United States. President Donald Trump responded, "Let's go, JD. We're putting you on stage."

"We do have, of course, a special relationship with our friends in the U.K. and also our European allies, but we also know there have been infringements on free speech that affect not just the British — what the British do in their own country is up to them — but also affect American technology companies and, by extension, American citizens," said Vance.

'We champion free speech in the United Kingdom.'

The vice president's allusion to foreign censorship of Americans might be in reference to the Starmer government's recent demand that Apple dismantle its encryption and provide law enforcement access to the iCloud data of users worldwide. The Washington Post reported that this secret order was issued in January under the U.K. Investigatory Powers Act by Starmer's home secretary.

The U.K.-based Free Speech Union noted that recent amendments to the Investigatory Powers Act also expanded Britain's ability to demand data from foreign tech firms, which could end up impacting Americans.

Starmer, evidently prickled by Vance's observations, tried painting a rosier picture, saying, "We've had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom, and it will last for a very, very long time."

After suggesting that London would not want to "reach across" and impact American citizens, Starmer said, "But in relation to free speech in the U.K., I'm really proud of that — our history there."

In an interview later with Fox News' Bret Baier, Starmer continued to pretend that censorship is not an issue in his country, stating, "We don't believe in censoring speech, but of course we do need to deal with terrorism. We need to deal with pedophiles and issues like that."

"[Vance] is right to champion free speech," continued Starmer. "We champion free speech in the United Kingdom."

'People might think they're not doing anything harmful. They are.'

Recent incidents in Britain besides Smith-Connor's conviction cast doubt on the veracity of Starmer's assertion.

A Christian singer was accosted by law enforcement in January 2024 for daring to sing gospel music "outside of church grounds."

Lee Joseph Dunn of Egremont, England, was charged with posting offensive content and handed an immediate eight-week jail sentence for posting memes online. Dunn shared an image of a large group of Middle Eastern men at a British crab fair in July with the caption, "Coming to a town near you." Dunn also shared an image of Middle Eastern men wielding knives in front of the Palace of Westminster near a crying child in a Union Jack flag shirt, again captioned, "Coming to a town near you."

Another Englishman was jailed for 12 weeks over a post on Facebook stating, "Filthy bastards," in response to a report that authorities in Cumbria had issued a dispersal order over fears of potential riots.

Former Royal Marine Jamie Michael was arrested, jailed, and denied bail in August after posting a Facebook video criticizing illegal immigration wherein he called illegal aliens "scumbags" and "psychopaths."

Blaze News previously reported that British police arrested an elderly Briton weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks for criticizing the myriad Palestinian flags flown around his neighborhood.

The director of Public Prosecutions of England and Wales told Sky News in August that there are "dedicated police officers who are scouring social media. Their job is to look for [racially inflammatory] material, and then follow up with identification, arrests, and so forth."

"People might think they're not doing anything harmful. They are," added Parkinson. "And the consequences will be visited upon them."

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