Tech Secretary Peter Kyle dismisses US report slamming human rights slide under Labour

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has dismissed claims made in a damning new report by the US government that British human rights are backsliding under Labour. The damning dossier was published yesterday by the State Department, condemning a crisis of free speech in the UK following the activation of the Online Safety Act, which Mr Kyle is responsible for overseeing.

The report said human rights in Britain have “worsened during the year”, amid “serious restrictions on freedom of expression”. The US foreign office report highlights the UK government calling on companies, including US social media firms “to censor speech deemed misinformation or ‘hate speech’". It also flagged widespread claims of a “two-tier” justice system in Britain following Axel Rudakubana’s murder spree, branding it “an especially grievous example of government censorship, censorship of ordinary Britons”.

This morning Mr Kyle hit back, insisting that the Online Safety Act protects free speech, despite numerous examples to the contrary.

He told LBC: “we have fantastic measures, historic measures... if you come right to the current moment with the Online Safety act, there are 50 separate mentions in legislation that give... protections to... freedom of speech.”

“I'm not saying anyone is right and wrong, because we are right to debate and discuss these issues and we welcome this kind of engagement.

“I have engaged with American politicians, as I have with EU politicians, and I've been speaking to counterparts in Australia and other parts of the world about these challenges.

“In a world which is moving increasingly online, we have to make sure that people have their right to freedom of speech, but we also have the right to life and we also have the right to protect children from... that kind of harm."

However Britons have already highlighted numerous examples of the OSA being used to censor online content including parliamentary speeches, news articles, and court transcripts from grooming gang trials.

A fortnight ago, the Express also revealed that Mr Kyle government department was making “no apologies” for trying to censor criticism of the country’s two-tier justice system amid the Southport Riots.

The Science and Tech Department was in frequent contact with social media firms making “proactive efforts” to deal with “misleading and false claims in relation to this incident feeding community tensions on a local level”.

The Online Safety Act, which came into force this summer and forces adults to verify their ages to access certain websites, was condemned by the US State Department report over the threat to ban the encryption of websites, which therefore threatens user privacy.

The report concludes that there is a “Significant human rights issue” in Britain, with “serious restrictions on freedom of expression, including enforcement of or threat of criminal or civil laws in order to limit expression; and crimes, violence, or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism.”

It adds that the government has been “inconsistent” in dealing with officials who have committed human rights abuses including crackdowns on freedom of speech and expression.

The publication of the official US government report this morning is doubly embarrassing for Keir Starmer, given Vice President JD Vance is currently holidaying in the Cotswolds.

On his visit to David Lammy’s grace-and-favour mansion, Mr Vance warned Britain not to go down a “very dark path” of losing free speech.