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Good morning. Christmas is the time of peace on earth and goodwill towards all men. But there is not much sign of that in US\/UK relations this morning, where the Trump administration has just sanctioned two Britons, among others, for supposedly trying to suppress free speech in the US, and that has led to the Lib Dem leader Ed Davey engaging in a Twitter spat with a senior figure in the US state department.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with the sanctions. Yesterday Marco Rubio<\/strong>, the US secretary of state, issued this statement saying:<\/p>\n The State Department is taking decisive action against five individuals who have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose. These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states\u2014in each case targeting American speakers and American companies. As such, I have determined that their entry, presence, or activities in the United States have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.<\/p>\n The state department has sanctioned five Europeans.<\/p>\n The list includes two Britons: Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index. Ahmed used to work for the Labour party and he is close to Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer\u2019s chief of staff. According to Politico\u2019s London Playbook, Ahmed is based in Washington, where he has an American wife and child, and he now faces deportation. Politico also says Melford faces having her US visa revoked.<\/p>\n Last night Sarah Rogers<\/strong>, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy at the state department, posted a thread on X defending the decision. She said the Trump administration was targeting the \u201ccensorship-NGO ecosystem\u201d.<\/p>\n Today, the United States issued SANCTIONS reinforcing the \u201cred line\u201d I invoked on @GBNEWS. Namely: extraterritorial censorship of Americans.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s sanctions target the censorship-NGO ecosystem.<\/p>\n These sanctions are visa-related. We aren\u2019t invoking severe Magnitsky-style financial measures, but our message is clear: if you spend your career fomenting censorship of American speech, you\u2019re unwelcome on American soil.<\/p>\n She also took a swipe at the Liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n None of those sanctioned is a current UK or EU official\u2014however, we know that foreign government officials are actively targeting the United States. This week, the UK\u2019s Liberal Democrats claimed President Trump\u2019s National Security Strategy amounts to \u201cforeign interference\u201d by a \u201chostile foreign state\u201d because it correctly identifies mass migration and decaying national sovereignty as existential European security concerns.<\/p>\n In fact, Davey did not say the national security strategy amounts to foreign interference in British politics because it is critical of mass migration. He said that because the document explicitly says US policy for Europe should prioritise, among other things, \u201ccultivating resistance to Europe\u2019s current trajectory within European nations\u201d.<\/p>\n In a direct response to Rogers on X last night, Davey<\/strong> made this point himself.<\/p>\n Donald Trump has made it his explicit policy to \u2018cultivate resistance\u2019 in the UK and elsewhere.<\/p>\n So yes, I think that counts as foreign interference.<\/p>\n I will be blogging until about 2pm. If there is time, I may even get round to covering something festive.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.51 EST<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n <\/span>Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Imran Ahmed<\/strong>, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, has not spoken out yet about being sanctioned by the US state deparment. (See 9.49am.) But if you want to hear him talking about disinformation and Elon Musk, he was interviewed on this topic last year in this episode of Ctrl Alt Deceit, a podcast examining threats to democratic institutions hosted by Nina Dos Santos, a former CNN journalist, and Owen Bennett-Jones, a former BBC foreign correspondent.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Nigel Farage,<\/strong> the Reform UK leader, has now released his Christmas video message.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n The US state department says it has imposed visa restrictions on Clare Melford, head of the Global Disinformation Index, because the GDI encouraged \u201ccensorship and blacklisting of American speech and press\u201d. (See 10.08am.) Melford is based in the UK, but it is understood that she had been planning a visit to her US office next year.<\/p>\n In a report on this story this morning, the comment website UnHerd<\/strong> says that it has lost revenue because of the way it has been portrayed by GDI in information to advertisers. UnHerd, which is owned by Paul Marshall, who also owns the Spectator and a stake in GB News, is generally seen as rightwing, but it could also be described as contrarian and it does publish articles from leftwingers.<\/p>\n In his report today for UnHerd, James Billot<\/strong> explains:<\/p>\n The [US] move comes amid mounting controversy over the GDI\u2019s activities, particularly its treatment of media outlets including UnHerd<\/em>. In January 2024, the GDI confirmed in an email that it had placed UnHerd<\/em> on a so-called \u201cdynamic exclusion list\u201d, citing articles by writers including Kathleen Stock, Julie Bindel and Debbie Hayton as examples of problematic content. The organisation equated \u201cgender-critical\u201d views with disinformation, despite such beliefs being protected under UK law.<\/p>\n The GDI\u2019s rating resulted in UnHerd<\/em> receiving just 2% to 6% of the advertising revenue normally expected for an outlet of its size.<\/p>\n Freddie Sayers, UnHerd\u2019s editor-in-chief, explained this in more detail in a video last year.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n The Global Disinformation Index<\/strong>, which is run by Clare Melford, one of the two Britons on the list of five Europeans facing US visa restrictions because of their work to stop online disinformation and hate (see 9.28am), has described the US state department\u2019s decision as \u201cimmoral, unlawful and un-American\u201d. In a reponse, a GDI spokesperson said:<\/p>\n The visa sanctions \u2026 are an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship.<\/em><\/p>\n The Trump Administration is, once again, using the full weight of the federal government to intimidate, censor, and silence voices they disagree with. Their actions today are immoral, unlawful, and un-American.<\/p>\n And, it must be said, deeply ironic. Only the bullies and petty fascists of the Trump administration could miss the irony of decrying \u201cspeech suppression\u201d while using state power to silence critics engaging in protected speech.<\/p>\n GDI exists so that the public can understand and evaluate the information they find online. We fight speech with more speech. If only the federal government were brave enough to do the same.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n This is what Sarah Rogers<\/strong>, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy at the US state department, said last night on her social media thread about why the two German HateAid campaigners (see 12.28pm) were facing visa restrictions.<\/p>\n WE\u2019VE SANCTIONED: Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, the leader and founder of HateAid, a German organization founded after the 2017 German federal elections to counter conservative groups. HateAid is an official \u201ctrusted flagger\u201d (a censor) under the EU\u2019s anti-speech Digital Services Act (DSA) and routinely demands access to propriety social media platform data to help it censor more. Hodenberg cited threat of \u201cdisinformation\u201d from \u201cright-wing extremists\u201d online in upcoming U.S. and EU elections when circulating a petition for the DSA to become more strongly enforced to allow data access for \u201cresearchers\u201d.<\/p>\n WE\u2019VE SANCTIONED: Josephine Ballon, co-leader of HateAid, who flags disfavored speech throughout Europe under the Digital Services Act. In addition to her running an official \u201ctrusted flagger\u201d body under the DSA, she serves on Germany\u2019s Advisory Council of the Digital Services Coordinator (DSC), which directly advises Germany\u2019s DSC on the application and enforcement of the DSA. In February 2025, Ballon spoke before an American audience in a notable 60 Minutes interview, outlining her position on censorship succinctly: \u201cFree speech needs boundaries.\u201d In October 2024, she vowed to stop the \u201cemotionalization of debates\u201d by \u201cregulating platforms\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n The German government has also criticised the US decision to impose visa restrictions on five Europeans over their stance on hate speech. There are two Germans on the list: Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon, who are co-leaders of HateAid, a German group that tries to counter \u201chate, violence and systematic disinformation\u201d online.<\/p>\n In a statement, the German justice ministry<\/strong> said the two activists had the government\u2019s \u201csupport and solidarity\u201d and the visa bans on them were unacceptable. It went on:<\/p>\n Anyone who describes this as censorship is misrepresenting our constitutional system.<\/p>\n The rules by which we want to live in the digital space in Germany and in Europe are not decided in Washington.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n We have not had any response yet from the UK government over the US decision to sanction five Europeans over their stance on hate speech. (See 9.28am.)<\/p>\n But Emmanuel Macron<\/strong>, the French president, has condemned the decision. He issued this statement this morning.<\/p>\n France condemns the visa restriction measures taken by the United States against Thierry Breton and four other European figures.<\/p>\n These measures amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.<\/p>\n The European Union\u2019s digital regulations were adopted following a democratic and sovereign process by the European Parliament and the Council.<\/p>\n They apply within Europe to ensure fair competition among platforms, without targeting any third country, and to ensure that what is illegal offline is also illegal online.<\/p>\n The rules governing the European Union\u2019s digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe.<\/p>\n Together with the European Commission and our European partners, we will continue to defend our digital sovereignty and our regulatory autonomy.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Unlike UK party leaders (see 10.48am), and the king, I don\u2019t have a Christmas message for the nation. But I do have one for readers, which is to say: thank you very much for reading, and for taking an interest (journalism does not work without an audience); thank you for your comments, and suggestions, and even your criticisms (at least, some of them) \u2013 our reporting is better as a result of the feedback we get; and thank you in particular if you support us financially, because the Guardian doesn\u2019t have a paywall and we can only make our stories available to everyone because enough readers believe we are providing a public good. Merry Christmas to you all and Happy New Year.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n In her tweet about why Imran Ahmed is being sanctioned (see 9.49am), Sarah Rogers said that one problem was that the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which Ahmed runs, reportedly wants to bring down Elon Musk\u2019s X. She was referring to this report published by the Disinformation Chronicle, a website that says it specialises in reporting on scientific disinformation.<\/p>\n Last night Paul Thacker<\/strong>, one of the reporters who wrote that story, posted a message on X welcoming the news that Ahmed might have to leave the US.<\/p>\n Another person who might feel vindicted by the state department\u2019s decision is Paul Holden<\/strong>, the investigative journalist who recently published The Fraud, a serious, meticulous hatchet job, based on a mass trove of leaked information, examining the way Morgan McSweeney, who is now the PM\u2019s chief of staff, and Keir Starmer went to war with the Corbynites and took control of the Labour party. Holden writes in some detail about how Ahmed and McSweeney worked together and he suggests that Ahmed\u2019s work at the CCDH could eventually damage relations between the Trump and Starmer administrations. He says:<\/p>\n Ahmed and the CCDH would migrate to the US after the spectre of Corbynism had been vanquished. From this new perch, they began targeting populist politicians, including Robert F. Kennedy Jnr. Their influential advocacy for censoring social media sites provoked X\u2019s owner Elon Musk into a \u2018war\u2019 against the organisation and attracted the ire of the incoming Trump administration, which promised that CCDH would move to the \u2018top of the list\u2019 of investigative targets upon election. If and when the notoriously vindictive Trump administration, in which Musk and Kennedy have played a key role, realises that one of its \u2018top\u2019 investigative targets was created by the man who is now chief of staff to the UK prime minister, who knows what might happen.<\/p>\n Holden gets the \u201ctop of the list\u201d quote from another Thacker story, published the day after the one about the CCDH wanting to bring down X.<\/p>\n For the purposes of this story, it is important to remember that US rightwingers and European liberals now have very divergent views as to what \u2018free speech\u2019 and \u2018censorship\u2019 mean. Essentially, the Americans are taking an absolutist approach, while the Europeans are more supportive of restrictions on the grounds of falsehood or hate.<\/p>\n The CCDH has been approached for a comment.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Keir Starmer<\/strong> has called on Britons to show kindness to struggling friends or family this Christmas, saying being in touch with those in need can make a big difference, Jessica Elgot<\/strong> reports.<\/p>\n Here is Starmer\u2019s video message.<\/p>\n From my family to yours, I wish you a very happy Christmas.<\/p>\n This is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Christmas story, and the Christian values that define it.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look forward and celebrate the joy and hope that Christmas brings. pic.twitter.com\/XpjZbBWDm2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) December 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n In her message, Kemi Badenoch<\/strong> talks about her family, and how she has had a \u201cwonderful year\u201d as leader of the opposition.<\/p>\n At Christmas we mark the birth of Christ. A wonderful story of hope, humility and peace at the most special time of year.<\/p>\n Christmas is a time for making merry and seeing friends, but more than anything, it\u2019s about family.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why, to those working tomorrow and spending time\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ssCAzmhrRs<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) December 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Ed Davey<\/strong>, the Lib Dem leader, is a bit more political in his message, citing the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, an annual gift to the UK from Norway for its support during the second world war, as a statement about friendship, and freedom.<\/p>\n Every year, people mock this tree. But I love it anyway. <\/p>\n It reminds us that if we stand together in tough times, we can overcome anything. <\/p>\n Merry Christmas from my family to yours. \ud83c\udf84\u2728 pic.twitter.com\/e8qdRk7MtX<\/a><\/p>\nUS visa restrictions over hate speech ‘immoral, unlawful and un-American’, says campaign group<\/h2>\n
German government says US sanctions against anti-hate speech campaigners unacceptable<\/h2>\n
Macron condemns US visa restrictions over hate speech, calling them ‘intimidation’ to undermine European digital sovereignty<\/h2>\n
UK party leaders deliver their Christmas message – with Zack Polanski using his to call for rethink on small boats policy<\/h2>\n