The Trump administration has dispatched a team of U.S. State Department diplomats to the United Kingdom to investigate mounting concerns over the erosion of free speech rights. A team from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) visited Britain in March, meeting with pro-life activists arrested for silently praying outside abortion clinics, as well as UK officials and members of Ofcom, the country’s broadcasting regulator now tasked with enforcing internet censorship under the controversial Online Safety Act.
The Online Safety Act empowers British authorities to impose massive fines on American social media platforms for failing to police content deemed “harmful.” The Trump administration has been vocal in criticizing Britain’s restrictive speech policies, warning that they could strain trade negotiations between the two nations.
Vice President JD Vance sounded the alarm during his February speech at the Munich Security Conference, declaring that free speech across Europe—and especially in the UK—is “in retreat.” Vance condemned the arrest of pro-life campaigners in Britain, including 74-year-old grandmother Rose Docherty, who became the first person detained under the UK’s new “buffer zone” law. Docherty, arrested for silently standing near an abortion clinic, expressed gratitude to the Trump administration for their support, saying: “This can’t be just. It’s heartening that others around the world, including the US government, have realised this injustice.”
Trump allies have also highlighted the case of 42-year-old English mother Lucy Connolly, who was sentenced to 31 months in prison over social media posts following the brutal murders of three girls at a Taylor Swift dance party in Southport by a second-generation migrant. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the Connolly case shows Britain has created a two-tier justice system, adding, “My American friends cannot believe what is happening in the UK.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer denied there is a free speech problem in the UK, but British police arrest over 30 people daily for “offensive” online comments, totaling around 12,000 arrests per year.
