The paper says that the warning came after the vice president suggested a UK-US agreement may be close, with the White House “working very hard” on it, saying: “I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.”:
But allies of Mr Vance say he is “obsessed by the fall of western civilisation” – including his view that free speech is being eroded in Britain – and that he will demand the Labour government rolls back laws against hateful comments, including abuse targeting LGBT+ groups or other minorities, as a condition of any deal.
The Independent was told: “The vice president expressing optimism [on a trade deal] is a way of putting further pressure on the UK over free speech. If a deal does not go through it makes Labour look bad.”
Mr Vance’s recent speech to the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank was cited as an example on his views on western culture and free speech being linked to securing an agreement.
“No free speech, no deal. It is as simple as that,” the source close to the vice president said.
It is understood Britain has already offered to drop its proposed digital services tax as a means of getting a trade deal through. But the US wants to see laws on hate speech repealed as well as plans for a new online safety law dropped.
Labour has made it clear it is not prepared to go that far. A Downing Street source said the subject “is not a feature of the talks”.
However, the issue seems to be one of the main sticking points from the White House perspective.
The UK Government should not allow the United States to impose a MAGA-like agenda on our country in a desperate attempt to get a deal.
It is bad enough that ministers are considering rowing back on the digital services tax, without signing up to Vance's fantasies about our democracy, which appears to be far more respectful of freedom of expression than the current US administration.
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