Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of failing to back UK citizens who have been targeted by Donald Trump in a fight by the US against anti-hate speech campaigners.
Two Britons are among five people sanctioned by the US administration because their campaigns against disinformation are seen by the White House as an attempt to silence conservatives and force American firms to obey European ‘censorship’.
But No 10 signalled on Wednesday that the Prime Minister would not confront Trump, his close ally, on the issue despite backing free speech and efforts to rid the internet of “harmful content”.
His response is in sharp contrast to that of other leaders including Emmanuel Macron, and of the European Union which has threatened tit-for-tat action against the US.
Starmer wants to stay close to Trump
Starmer has generally sought to avoid provoking the unpredictable US President since he returned to the White House in January, and claims he is able to secure better results for the UK by remaining close to Trump.
The latest row came after the US State Department announced on Tuesday that it would impose visa bans on five individuals who have been involved in fighting disinformation.
Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, said: “For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organised efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.”
British citizen Imran Ahmed, head of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, has previously been an ally of No 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney. He is reported to live in Washington and will therefore be deported from his current home.
The other Briton affected is Clare Melford, of the Global Disinformation Index. The Trump administration did not target any serving UK or EU officials, but did criticise the Liberal Democrats for accusing the President of “foreign interference” in British politics.
A UK Government spokesman said: “The UK is fully committed to upholding the right to free speech. While every country has the right to set its own visa rules, we support the laws and institutions which are working to keep the internet free from the most harmful content.
“Social media platforms should not be used to disseminate child sex abuse material, incite hatred and violence, or spread fake information and videos for that purpose.”
‘Bullying tactics’
Macron, the President of France, said that the US’s actions were a form of “intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty”.
A spokesman for the European Commission added: “If needed, we will respond swiftly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures.”
Calum Miller, the Lib Dems’ foreign affairs spokesman, suggested Starmer was not doing enough to push back against Trump. He told The i Paper: “Donald Trump has made it his explicit policy to interfere in European politics and ‘cultivate resistance’ in the UK and elsewhere. Nobody expects that to stop with words.
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“Trump and his backers plan to pour money into British and European politics to try to change the outcomes of elections. That is different from the right to speak out and scrutinise the powerful. Trump likes to dish it out but not to take criticism. These sanctions are an attack on free speech and amount to bullying tactics. The Government must stand up for its citizens, not stay silent.”
Since returning to the presidency, Trump has sought to end efforts by tech companies and other countries’ governments to enforce rules against spreading hate speech and deliberately incorrect information, arguing that these are covering for censoring conservative viewpoints.
But he has been accused of hypocrisy because of policies which are seen as curbing the right to free speech, such as his ongoing lawsuit against the BBC over the way it edited one of his speeches in a broadcast last year.
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