Britain’s complacency when it comes to free speech in this country can be measured by the testiness with which people react to criticisms about it. When JD Vance sounded off about Europe — not least Britain — putting the principles of free speech at risk in a talk he gave in Munich in February, there weren’t many who actually read his text, but there were lots who responded irritably to Americans weighing in on an issue that seems pretty OK.
Former queen of Woman’s Hour, Jenni Murray, reacted badly to JD’s views on anti-abortion activists being banned from even silent protest near clinics. On Any Questions, an American, Sarah Elliot, who had the temerity to raise the Lucy Connolly question — she’s the Tory councillor’s wife sentenced to 30 months in jail for a rash tweet about the Southport murders (subsequently withdrawn and apologised for) — got short shrift when she suggested it all seemed a bit excessive. Yanks, huh?
