From The Catholic Herald.
The US has warned the UK that the enforcement of so-called “buffer zones” around abortion clinics and facilities puts the “shared values” of the two countries at risk.
The censure by the US state department comes just over a week after its annual Human Rights Report accused Britain of “serious restrictions on free speech”, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Last year in England and Wales, a new law came in that means people face unlimited fines if they engage in silent prayer or protest within 150 metres of a clinic or hospital providing abortion services.
As a result, a number of people, most of them Christian pro-life activists, have been charged under the new law, including for silent prayer.
During these incidents, the US said it was monitoring the situation and emphasised the importance of free speech and religious liberty.
The US state department has now gone further, accusing Downing Street of an “egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech”, the Telegraph reports.
A spokesperson for the department said: “The United States is still monitoring many ‘buffer zone’ cases in the UK, as well as other acts of censorship throughout Europe.”
The spokesperson added: “The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations.
“It is common sense that standing silently and offering consensual conversation does not constitute harm.”
The statement is the latest warning to come from the White House about free speech in the UK.