Speaking exclusively to LBC, Peter Kyle said “we have fantastic measures, historic measures… if you come right to the current moment with the Online Safety act, there are 50 separate mentions in legislation that give… protections to… freedom of speech.”
“I’m not saying anyone is right and wrong, because we are right to debate and discuss these issues and we welcome this kind of engagement.”
Mr Kyle also said the UK is in talks with the US over online safety: “I have engaged with American politicians, as I have with EU politicians, and I’ve been speaking to counterparts in Australia and other parts of the world about these challenges.”
“In a world which is moving increasingly online, we have to make sure that people have their right to freedom of speech, but we also have the right to life and we also have the right to protect children from… that kind of harm.”
The annual U.S. human rights report singled out the UK for what it called “serious restrictions” on free expression.
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While acknowledging that British authorities “sometimes took credible steps” to hold officials accountable for abuses, the document said prosecution and punishment “remained inconsistent.”
It highlighted laws creating “safe access zones” around abortion clinics as a key concern, arguing they limit speech by banning protests and prayer within designated areas.
The State Department also condemned the government’s response after the 2024 Southport attack, claiming officials “repeatedly intervened to chill speech.”
Germany and France received similar criticism over their own approaches to free expression.
The US State Department report coincides with Vice President JD Vance’s holiday in the Cotswolds, where he said he does not want the UK to go down a “very dark path” of losing free speech during a meeting with the foreign secretary at his country estate.
In February, during a televised meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Mr. Vance also claimed “infringements on free speech” now impact American tech companies.
Sir Keir responded: “We’ve had free speech for a very long time, it will endure for a long time, and we are very proud of that.”