Keir Starmer’s hopes of securing a free trade deal with the US have received a fresh blow after officials said they were ‘concerned about freedom of expression’ in the UK.
The US state department issued a statement on Sunday night in relation to the case of an anti-abortion campaigner, with a source later suggesting there should be ‘no free trade without free speech’.
It said it was ‘monitoring’ the case of Livia Tossici-Bolt, who was prosecuted for holding a sign near a Bournemouth abortion clinic that read ‘here to talk if you want’.
A verdict on the case is due this Friday and the state department’s comment on the case has been branded unusual as it would not normally comment on the domestic policies of another country.
But a source familiar with trade negotiations told the Telegraph there should be ‘no free trade without free speech’.
It comes as Sir Keir has been attempting to strike a deal with the US since Donald Trump announced tariffs on ‘all countries’.
A phone call between the two leaders over the weekend saw No 10 concede on Monday the financial charges would likely hit Britain.
It is not the first time a US body has criticised the UK over free speech in recent months as during Sir Keir’s visit to Washington last month, Vice President JD Vance explicitly confronted the prime minister, saying there are ‘infringements on free speech’ in the UK.
A particular bugbear is understood to be the Online Safety Act, regulating free speech online, as it is expected to levy large fines on US tech companies.
The law has been criticised by free speech advocates home and abroad who argue its broad scope could lead to excessive censorship and deter investment from US tech giants.
A full-blow trade war, with the UK responding in kind to Mr Trump’s tariffs, could knock one per cent off GDP and wipe out the Chancellor’s fiscal headroom, the Office for Budget Responsibility previously warned.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘You’ve got the OBR’s modelling, and we’ve said previously a trade war with the US is clearly not in anybody’s interests.
‘We continue to have constructive discussions on agreeing a deal with the US, but at the same time, we’ve also been clear that all options are on the table, we obviously reserve our right to respond, to protect our industries. But we want to take a calm and pragmatic approach to this.
‘I think British industry has also been clear that it wants to see the Government having a dialogue with the United States, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do and seek to achieve.’
Speaking on board Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump told reporters the upcoming tariffs would apply to ‘all countries, so let’s see what happens’.
Stock markets plummeted in the wake of his remarks, with the FTSE 100 in London dropping my a substantial 1.5pc.
Rob Wood, at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: ‘A Donald Trump-shaped shadow hangs over the global and UK economies.’