NATO leaders have become “too accustomed to censoring” opinions, the US vice president said, commenting on the situation with freedom of speech in the UK.
J.D. Vance has accused former President Joe Biden's administration of taking the United States down a “very dark path” that he believes other countries should stay away from.
The republican met British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Kent, where they went carp fishing together.
Asked if Mr Vance had a “message” for Mr Lammy on free speech, the vice-president said: “I have expressed my concerns about free speech in the United States of America.
“I think the collective West, the transatlantic relationship, our NATO allies and certainly the United States under Biden have become too accustomed to censorship rather than engaging with diverse voices.
“This is my opinion.
“Of course, I have expressed some criticism and concerns about our friends across the Atlantic, but I say to the people of England or anyone else, to David, that many of the things that worry me most have happened in the United States between 2020 and 2024.
“I just don’t want other countries to follow our example and choose what I think is a very dark path under the Biden administration.”
Mr Vance has previously criticised what he calls a “retreat from conscience rights” in Britain.
At the Munich Security Conference in February, he mentioned the creation of buffer zones near abortion clinics, where certain protests would not be allowed within the established boundaries.
“I fear that in the UK and across Europe, free speech is in retreat,” the vice president said at the time.
Earlier this year at the White House, Mr Vance spoke of “free speech abuses that affect not just the British people” but also American tech companies “and, by extension, American citizens”.
Sir Keir Starmer, sitting next to him, responded that London “would not wish to engage with US citizens”.
The British Prime Minister said: “Freedom of speech has existed in the United Kingdom for a very long time and will continue to exist for a long time to come.”
During the debate in Kent, Mr Lammy noted that he and Mr Vance had “common interests
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
