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A cabinet minister has hit back at an extraordinary rant by US vice president JD Vance, in which he attacked European democracies and claimed the greatest threat facing the continent was not Russia or China but “from within”.
Mr Vance stunned delegates at the Munich Security Conference on Friday as he accused Europe of “retreating from some of its most fundamental values”, including free speech.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC he disagreed with Mr Vance’s take on the largest threat facing Europe.
“I would disagree on that,” he said. “I think the threat from Russia is real.”
He also hit out at Mr Vance’s attack on the UK over a legal case in which a former serviceman who silently prayed outside an abortion clinic was convicted of breaching a safe zone around the centre.
Mr Reynolds, who is a Christian himself, said: “No one is arrested for what they are praying about. The example he gave was about making sure people can access healthcare.”
During his speech, Mr Vance said the US’s “very dear friends the United Kingdom” appeared to have seen a “backslide in conscience rights”.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch appeared to back his warning, saying in an interview that free speech is “under threat” and the law has “overreached” to police people’s opinions.
She told The Sunday Telegraph that Britons should “fight for” free speech and said she supported those “questioning the status quo”.
“Free speech is precious – and under threat,” she said. “We must fight for it. It challenges dangerous orthodoxies and sparks change.”
Ms Badenoch added: “Rules to protect people from ‘perceived’ harm have overreached. Being upset or offended shouldn’t be the state’s concern.
“Silencing free speech harms democracy, culture and individual resilience. Without free speech, false ideas thrive unchallenged.”
Mr Vance’s speech was denounced by several politicians at the conference. German defence minister Boris Pistorius said it was “not acceptable”.
