Nigel Farage compares 'authoritarian' Britain to North Korea in address to US Congress

The Reform UK leader was invited to give evidence on civil liberties at a meeting of Washington’s House Judiciary Committee, and used the opportunity to slam the Online Safety Act, the imprisonment of Lucy Connolly and the arrest of Graham Linehan.

Mr Farage began his speech by outlining the importance of free speech that "We'll fight and defend to the death".

He said: "Your right to say something that we fundamentally disagree with, that is the absolute foundation, if you think about it, of free speech, of democracy, of living in freedom.

"It's kind of why we fought two world wars at massive, massive cost to defend that very principle."

He said he first became worried about free speech with the emergence of "cancel culture", specifically speakers being banned from universities because their opinions might offend.

While Mr Farage recognised the concerns of all parents about what children are seeing online, he slammed the Online Safety Act saying "we're not finding the right solutions".

He said: "I come from the land of Magna Carta. I come from a land that gave us the mother of Parliament.

"So it doesn't give me any great joy to be sitting in America and describing the really awful authoritarian situation that we have now sunk into."

Mr Farage referenced the case of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for stirring up racial hatred against asylum seekers - something that she pleaded guilty to.

Following the horrific murder of three children in Southport, Connolly wrote on X: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care... If that makes me racist, so be it.”

Mr Farage failed to include the comment Connolly was jailed for in his speech, instead saying she "put out an intemperate Tweet after the savage murder of those three beautiful young girls".

He added: "It was intemperate, it was wrong, but she removed it three and a half hours later. Sentenced to 31 months in prison, she's now out, having served 40% of the time.

"I wanted to bring her with me today as living proof of what can go wrong. Sadly, the restrictions that have been put on her banned her from making the trip, which is a very, very great shame."

Mr Farage also referenced the "extraordinary events" of the arrest of Graham Linehan over online comments.

He went on to warn Americans they could face the same treatment, saying: "He's not even a British citizen, he's an Irish citizen.

"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."

Mr Farage concluded: "So I've come today as well to be a klaxon, to say to you, don't allow, piece by piece, this to happen here in America.

"And you would be doing us and yourselves and all freedom loving people a favour if your politicians and your businesses said to the British government, you've simply got this wrong.

"At what point did we become North Korea? Well, I think the Irish comedy writer found that out two days ago at Heathrow Airport.

"This is a genuinely worrying, concerning and shocking situation and I thank you for the opportunity to come here today."

Mr Farage was branded a “Putin-loving free speech impostor and Trump sycophant” by a US congressman ahead of his speech.

Democrat representative Jamie Raskin echoed Sir Keir Starmer’s criticism of the Reform UK leader for missing Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons to fly to America to voice concerns about free speech in Britain to politicians in Capitol Hill.

Mr Raskin said: “He should go and advance the positions he’s taking here in Congress today, in Parliament, which is meeting today, if he’s serious about it.

“To the people of the UK who think this Putin-loving free speech impostor and Trump sycophant will protect freedom in this country, come on over to America and see what Trump and Maga are doing to destroy our freedom… you might… think twice before you let Mr Farage make Britain great again.”