British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed free speech in the United Kingdom nearly two weeks after Vice President JD Vance scolded Europe over what he viewed as dangerous censorship.
Sitting close to Starmer and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Vance defended his remarks when a reporter asked about them on Thursday.
“Look, I said what I said. We do have, of course, a special relationship with our friends in the U.K.,” the vice president said. “But we also know there have been infringements on free speech.”
Starmer responded immediately, saying, “We’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom. And it will last for a very, very long time.”
.@VP JD Vance defends his Munich remarks: "We do have a special relationship with our friends in the U.K…but we also know there have been infringements on free speech…"
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 27, 2025
British Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer: "We've had speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom." pic.twitter.com/cflae6waRz
While the main subject of the Munich Conference, where Vance first made his remarks, was the negotiation to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, Vance accused Europe of abandoning its democratic principles, which much of the U.S. aid to the continent is based on.
“Free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” Vance said.
“I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom, where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons in particular in the crosshairs,” he added.
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The vice president did not accuse Russia, which frequently censors political speech, of censorship in his address.
Vance, Trump, and Elon Musk have made free speech and censorship concerns a focal point of the new Trump administration.