Nigel Farage likens UK to North Korea in US congressional testimony
Nigel Farage has told US lawmakers Britain is like North Korea when it comes to free speech, as he lambasted the UK government’s record at a hearing in Washington.
The Reform UK leader, whose rightwing populist party is leading polls despite having only four MPs, cited the arrest of Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan as an example of the “big threat” the UK posed to free expression.
British police arrested Linehan on Monday at London’s Heathrow airport in relation to his social media posts about transgender people. He was suspected of inciting violence under the Public Order Act.
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Farage urges US to apply pressure on UK over Online Safety Act
Nigel Farage ended his participation in the hearing by calling for the US government to apply pressure on the UK over the Online Safety Act.
Governments talk to each other . . . and it needs the American administration and businesses to have an honest conversation.
I do think there is a conversation to be had with the British government about the shape of their legislation and the impact it can have on American individuals, their liberty and American companies.
UK Online Safety Act a ‘sledgehammer that misses the nut’, Farage says
Nigel Farage likens the UK’s Online Safety Act to a “sledgehammer that misses the nut”, saying it “is not protecting kids”.
Many websites have launched age-verification systems since the act came into force this summer, with traffic to some porn sites dropping sharply as a result. However, there has also been a concurrent rise in the use of VPNs.
The Reform UK leader made the comments to US Congress in response to a question from Republican congressman Darrell Issa.