The Trump administration has accused the UK of backsliding on human rights over the past year, citing antisemitic violence and “serious restrictions” on free speech.
The annual US state department assessment, which analyses human rights conditions worldwide, highlighted laws limiting speech around abortion clinics, as well as the way government officials “repeatedly intervened to chill speech” online after the 2024 Southport attack.
The report stated: “The government sometimes took credible steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but prosecution and punishment for such abuses was inconsistent.”
The report cited the “safe access zones” around abortion clinics, which it said “could include prohibitions on efforts to influence … even through prayer or silent protests”.
Criticism over the handling of free speech – in particular relating to regulations on online hate speech – was also directed at the governments of Germany and France.
A UK government spokesperson said: “Free speech is vital for democracy around the world, including here in the UK, and we are proud to uphold freedoms whilst keeping our citizens safe.”
The document, previously seen as the most comprehensive study of its kind, has been significantly rewritten and downscaled by the Trump administration, including in areas such as government corruption and LGBTQ+ rights.
It spares criticism for US allies such as Israel and El Salvador while escalating disapproval of perceived foes such as Brazil and South Africa. The document was published after months of delay amid reports of internal dissent at the state department over its contents.
It echoed claims previously voiced by the US vice-president, JD Vance. In February, he criticised the UK over a legal case in which a former serviceman, Adam Smith-Connor, who silently prayed outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth in 2022, was convicted of breaching the safe zone around the centre.
In a wider attack on what he suggested was a shift away from democratic values across Europe, Vance claimed the “basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular” were under threat.
Speaking at the Munich security conference, Vance said that the US’s “very dear friends the United Kingdom” appeared to have seen a “backslide in conscience rights”.
Vance is taking a holiday in the Cotswolds in south-west England, an area that is becoming increasingly popular with the rich and famous.
During the trip, he has been hosted by David Lammy for talks about Gaza and other international affairs at the foreign secretary’s official residence, Chevening, in Kent. Vance also invited the Conservative shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, and the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, to a meeting at the house where he is staying.
The report also said the government “effectively” enforced laws around freedom of association and the rights of workers.
