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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Holly Bancroft

Trump administration bans two British free speech campaigners from US as censorship row escalates

Clare Melford, CEO of the Global Disinformation Index (left), and Imran Ahmed, the head of Centre for Countering Digital Hate (right), have been banned from the US - (World Economic Forum/PA)

Two Britons who campaign against misinformation and hate speech online have been denied US visas after being accused of seeking to “censor” Americans, as the UK government reaffirmed its stance to “upholding the right to free speech”.

Imran Ahmed, an ex-Labour adviser and ally of Sir Keir Starmer who now heads the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and Clare Melford, CEO of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) have been labelled “radical activists” by the Trump administration.

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