UK government rejects Trump official’s free speech arrest claims
9 reported
A senior Trump administration official's claims that British police make thousands of "freedom of speech" arrests have been rejected by the UK government. Sarah B Rogers, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy at the US state department, made the remarks during a speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London. A UK government spokesperson said Friday that the justice system operates without fear or favor and that the government completely rejects the characterization. The Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesperson said Trump officials' attempts to undermine UK democracy were out of hand. The Labour MP Stella Creasy also criticized Rogers, suggesting she should focus on US problems such as gun violence and deportations of children.
What’s reported
Sarah B Rogers is undersecretary of state for public diplomacy at the US state department.
She spoke at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London, which was also addressed by Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch.
Rogers claimed British police make "thousands of speech arrests per year."
She referenced the death of teenager Henry Nowak and an incident where a child was thrown into a zoo's crocodile pit.
Rogers used the term "Da Yookay," described as a viral meme associated with the online far right.
A UK government spokesperson said the government "completely reject[s] this characterisation."
Max Wilkinson, Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesperson, said Trump officials' actions were "out of hand."
Labour MP Stella Creasy said figures like Rogers should "spend less time reading Twitter conspiracy theories about the UK and more time fixing their own problems."
More than 4,000 delegates from 85 countries attended the three-day conference.
Key figures
Sarah B Rogers, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, US state department
Max Wilkinson, Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesperson
Stella Creasy, Labour MP
Keir Starmer, UK prime minister
Nigel Farage, Reform UK politician
Kemi Badenoch, Conservative party leader
Philippa Stroud, Conservative peer and ARC head
Danny Kruger, Reform MP and ARC advisory board member
James Orr, Cambridge theologian and ARC senior advisor
Carl Benjamin, rightwing political commentator
Sources: The Guardian
