A cabinet minister has hit back at an extraordinary rant by US vice president JD Vance, in which he attacked European democracies and claimed the greatest threat facing the continent was not Russia or China but "from within".
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch appeared to back his warning, saying in an interview that free speech is "under threat" and the law has "overreached" to police people's opinions.
During his speech, Mr Vance said the US’s "very dear friends the United Kingdom" appeared to have seen a "backslide in conscience rights".
Mr Vance stunned delegates at the Munich Security Conference on Friday as he accused Europe of “retreating from some of its most fundamental values”, including free speech.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC he disagreed with Mr Vance’s take on the largest threat facing Europe.
