Nigel Farage faced a brutal verbal assault from a US politician who branded him a "Putin-loving Trump wannabe" during his testimony to Congress on Wednesday. The Reform UK leader had flown to Washington to accuse the British government of clamping down on free speech, despite Parliament returning this week.
Farage compared the UK to North Korea as he outlined cases of people arrested for online posts. He highlighted Lucy Connolly, the Tory councillor jailed for tweeting about setting asylum hotels on fire, and Graham Linehan, the Father Ted creator arrested over anti-trans posts on X.
"He put out some tweets months ago when he was in Arizona, and months later he arrives at Heathrow Airport to be met by five armed police," Farage told the House Judiciary Committee. "This could happen to any American man or woman that goes to Heathrow that has said things online that the British government and British police don't like."
Democratic attack intensifies
Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, launched a scathing attack on both Farage and the Republicans who organised the hearing. He described Farage as a "far right pro-Putin politician" and criticised the inquiry into "Europe's threat to American speech and innovation".
"He calls England an authoritarian regime, while saying Vladimir Putin is the world leader he admires the most," Raskin said. "This hearing is just a drive-by hit against a strong democratic ally to benefit a Donald Trump sycophant and wannabe."
Raskin escalated his attack further, warning British voters against Farage's influence. "For a man who fancies himself to some kind of a free speech martyr, Mr Farage seems most at home with the autocrats and dictators of the world who are crushing freedom on earth," he said.
Additional controversy emerges
Metro reports that Lucy Connolly, whom Farage cited as an example, served 40% of her 31-month sentence and was banned from travelling to the US for the hearing. The case has become a flashpoint in debates over online speech restrictions.
The Financial Times UK reveals that Reform UK faces accusations of hypocrisy for banning press from their events while advocating for free speech in America. The party holds just four seats out of 650 in Parliament but continues to position itself as a champion of unrestricted expression.
According to the Evening Standard, Elon Musk has called the UK a "police state" in relation to the Graham Linehan arrest. The tech billionaire's comments have added international attention to the cases Farage highlighted in his testimony.
Sources used: "HuffPost UK", "Evening Standard", "Financial Times UK", "Metro" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
