In its annual human rights report, the US State Department highlighted laws limiting protest around abortion clinics and claimed that government officials intervened to suppress online expression following the 2024 Southport attack.
While acknowledging that UK authorities sometimes took steps to identify and punish officials responsible for abuses, the report said prosecutions and penalties were applied inconsistently.
The assessment criticised safe access zones around abortion clinics, which can prohibit attempts to influence individuals, including through prayer or silent demonstration. Similar concerns over free speech regulation, particularly regarding online hate speech, were also raised against Germany and France.
A UK government spokesperson defended the nation’s record, insisting that free speech remains central to democracy and that the government balances freedom with public safety.
The report, historically regarded as the most comprehensive global human rights review, has been significantly scaled back and rewritten under the Trump administration. It placed little focus on issues such as government corruption and LGBTQ+ rights and avoided criticising close US allies like Israel and El Salvador, while increasing its criticism of countries including Brazil and South Africa.
Publication of the document was delayed for months, reportedly due to internal disagreements within the State Department. Its findings echoed recent remarks by US Vice President JD Vance, who criticised the UK for prosecuting Adam Smith-Connor in 2022 after he silently prayed outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, breaching its safe zone rules.
Vance has argued that basic freedoms, particularly those of religious Britons, are under threat. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, he claimed that the UK had seen a decline in conscience rights across Europe.
The Vice President is currently on holiday in the Cotswolds, a region increasingly popular with the wealthy. During his visit, he held talks on Gaza and other international issues with Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening in Kent. He also met Conservative shadow ministers Robert Jenrick and Chris Philp at his accommodation.
Despite the criticism, the report acknowledged that the UK effectively enforced laws protecting freedom of association and workers’ rights.
