The US vice-president has warned the UK not to go down the ‘dark path’ of censorship during his meeting with the Foreign Secretary yesterday.
Appearing alongside David Lammy, JD Vance warned that the West had become ‘too comfortable’ with blocking ideas rather than engaging with diverse opinions.
Referring to his previous intervention, Mr Vance said he had ‘raised some concerns about our friends this side of Atlantic’ after warning that free speech is being eroded in the UK.
Speaking at the Foreign Secretary’s grace-and-favour home in Chevening, Kent, yesterday, Mr Vance said: ‘I’ve raised concerns about free speech in the United States of America.
‘The entire collective West – our transatlantic relationship, our Nato allies, certainly the United States under the Biden administration – got a little too comfortable with censoring rather than engaging with a diverse range of opinions.’
He added: ‘I’ve raised some concerns about our friends on this side of the Atlantic but the thing I would say to the people of England, to David, is that many of the things I worry most about were happening in the United States from 2020 to 2024.
‘I just don’t want other countries to follow us on what I think was a very dark path under the Biden administration.’
His remarks suggest an attempt to cool his previous comments about free speech in the UK.
‘I’ve raised some concerns about our friends on this side of the Atlantic,’ said Vance
Mr Vance said there was a ‘very special relationship’ between Britain and America and that it was ‘good to see’ Mr Lammy, right
He has previously criticised safe zones outside abortion clinics and has described Britain as the first ‘Islamist’ nation with nuclear weapons.
Mr Vance is visiting the UK on a summer holiday during which he will also visit the Cotswolds and Scotland, but found time to hold a bilateral meeting with Mr Lammy yesterday.
He arrived at the Grade I-listed home yesterday with his wife and three children before embarking on a spot of carp fishing with Mr Lammy.
Mr Vance and his children appear to have been far more successful than Mr Lammy, who failed to catch anything.
Mr Lammy said: ‘A real pleasure to welcome my friend JD Vance and his family to Chevening.
‘Before beginning our bilateral, the vice-president gave me fishing tips, Kentucky style.’
Speaking at a press conference shortly after, Mr Vance said there was a ‘very special relationship’ between Britain and America and that it was ‘good to see’ Mr Lammy.
Mr Vance added: ‘In the brief time we have been here, my kids have fallen asleep on your floor, we have gone fishing in the lake outside.
‘Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught a fish, but the Foreign Secretary did not – I’m sorry about that.’
Asked if he caught any fish, Mr Vance said: ‘I caught a few, actually. I don’t want to brag, but we did OK.’
