Thursday, September 04, 2025
A ‘Putin-loving free speech imposter’
The Guardian reports that Nigel Farage went to Washington at the invitation of Republicans to testify on what the Reform leader calls the “awful authoritarian” situation for free speech in the UK. as if it's any of their business.(Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
In other words, he once more neglected to represent his constituents in Parliament so he could go to a foreign country to talk the UK down. However, he got a bit more than he bargained for.
The paper says that during the sometimes difficult appearance before the US congressional hearing on censorship, Farage was accused of being a “Putin-loving free speech impostor” whose main motivation is ingratiating himself with Donald Trump and tech companies.
The Reform UK leader, missed prime minister’s questions to appear as a witness before the House judiciary committee, but he faced openly hostile questioning from Democrat members, who questioned whether he really backed free speech, with one asking why journalists from hostile publications have been banned from Reform events:
In an opening statement, the Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin said that if Farage was, as he said, worried about the implications of the UK’s Online Safety Act, he might have done better to make the case as an MP rather than in the US.
“He should go and advance the positions he’s taking here in Congress today in parliament, which is meeting today, if he’s serious about it,” Raskin said.
“To the people of the UK who think this Putin-loving free speech impostor and Trump sycophant will protect freedom in this country, come on over to America and see what Trump and Maga are doing to destroy our freedom. You might … think twice before you let Mr Farage make Britain great again.”
Some other Democrat members were equally scathing. Jerrold Nadler asked why the committee had sought evidence from “a fringe politician from the United Kingdom”, while another, Hank Johnson, asked Farage to confirm that Reform currently has four MPs.
Johnson accused Farage of advocating for free speech so as to solicit donations from Elon Musk, the owner of X, saying: “You’re trying to ingratiate yourself with the tech bros.” He added: “You need money from Elon Musk in order to get elected prime minister of Great Britain. That’s the bottom line.”
Farage responded by pointing out that Musk did not support him: “Elon Musk is abusive about me virtually every single week, but it’s a free country.”
Raskin asked the Reform leader why he had called for a ban on a pro-Gaza protest, with Farage saying this was because it would have happened close to Remembrance Sunday, calling this a “sensitive” time.
Raskin replied: “I thought that’s what the freedom of speech was about. You have a right to engage in speech that other people consider offensive or insensitive.”
Raskin also asked why Reform often prevents journalists from critical organisations from attending its events. Farage said this did not happen with his knowledge: “If I go back the last 25 years, I can’t think of banning anybody. But I mean, maybe somebody else did.”
Wouldn't it be nice if UK journalists, especially the BBC, dropped the kid gloves and took a similar robust approach to scrutinise Farage and his cronies.
