A cabinet minister hit back at JD Vance this morning after the US vice-president attacked the UK.
JD Vance slammed Britain on Friday over its implementation of safe zones around abortion clinics, which are intended to stop anti-abortion campaigners from harassing people going into the facility.
But, speaking at the Munich Security Summit, Vance criticised the buffer areas, and recalled how one man, Adam Smith-Connor, was given a two-year conditional discharge for breaching the restrictions around a clinic in Bournemouth.
Vance said: “After British law enforcement spotted him and demanded to know what he was praying for, Adam replied simply, it was on behalf of the unborn son he and his former girlfriend had aborted years before.”
Smith-Connor was ordered to pay £9,000 after he was found praying in a buffer zone and refused to leave.
Vance also criticised the “safe access zones” in Scotland and inaccurately claimed the Scottish government told citizens to report each other for “thought crime”.
He said: “In Britain, and across Europe, free speech I fear is in retreat.”
The new vice-president’s comments were part of a wider speech which saw him attack the whole continent.
He also claimed the greatest threat to Europe came from “within” as countries were fleeing from their own voters and their own values.
Asked about Vance’s claims on Sky News, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “I did say we don’t have to agree on everything and I think that’s one area where we would disagree.
“I speak as a Christian myself, no-one is subject to any kind of enforcement from the state for praying in this country.
“The example he gave was about people being able to access health care, in this case abortions free of intimidation or harassment.
“I think that’s an important British value so I think we we disagree in our interpretation of that.”
Presenter Trevor Phillips asked: “So he’s wrong, he just doesn’t get Britain?”
“I wouldn’t put it in those terms,” the minister replied.
He said the agenda from the new administration is “admirably clear, articulated” but the UK and the US can “disagree”.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel would not be drawn on whether she agreed with Vance’s stance during her own Sky News interview.
She told Phillips: ”[Vance] is absolutely within his rights to give a speech of content that he chooses, that’s absolutely right and proper.
“He’s given a view – personally I think it’s up to politicians and governments of the day to stand up and demonstrate what they’re doing and tackle some of these issues that exist within different countries and different systems.
“All our systems are very very different, let’s not forget that.”
She added: “There’s always more that we must do to defend free speech.”
