US Vice President JD Vance has ripped into Britain over free speech and attacked Europe’s immigration policies.
The second-in-command under Donald Trump strongly criticized the continent during the Munich Security Conference, which took place just a day following a tragic car incident in the city where 36 individuals, including children, were injured.
The suspect, Farhad N, is currently under investigation by authorities for his alleged act of driving a Mini Cooper into a crowd of demonstrators in the Bavarian capital on Thursday.
Initially identified as a 24-year-old Afghan who sought asylum in Germany in 2016, the police later corrected their statement clarifying that Farhad N does indeed possess a valid work permit.
Vance, who himself incorrectly labelled the man an asylum seeker, used it as just one example of a concerning number of recent incidents across Europe.
He spoke about issues in Sweden where a man was seen burning the Koran in public before being killed in the city of Sodertalje.
And the annulled election in Romania which was said to have been heavily influenced by Russia.
The Vice President used the examples to tell European officials that many of the continent’s issues stem from “unvetted immigration”.
He lectured the audience by saying their nation’s citizens “didn’t vote to open floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants”.
VP Vance also took aim at Britain as he heavily criticised the government for its “backsliding” free speech laws.
He said: “When I look at Europe today, it’s sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War’s winners.
“And perhaps most concerningly, I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom, where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs.”
He used the example of 51-year-old Adam Smith-Connor who was jailed for breaching a safe zone around an abortion clinic in Bournemouth.
Vance explained: “After British law enforcement spotted him and demanded to know what he was praying for, Adam replied simply, it was on behalf of the unborn son he and his former girlfriend had aborted years before.”
The conviction was later confirmed to be unrelated to Smith-Connor’s thoughts while he was in the safe zone.
Vance then hit out at Scotland for similar complaints over “safe access zones” designed to stop anti-abortion campaigners.
His speech ended with him urging the whole of Europe to look towards his boss Donald Trump‘s leadership.
He said: “In Britain, and across Europe, free speech I fear is in retreat.
“In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town and under Donald Trump’s leadership we may disagree with your views but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square, agree or disagree.”
His comment was met with a muted applause as he walked off stage.
Earlier on Friday, Vance also met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
He used the chats to urge all Nato members to step up its defence spending ahead of a potential continental clash.
CRUNCH UKRAINE TALKS
Vance is also in Munich to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as talks continue over the end of the war in Ukraine.
Zelensky is set to speak with Trump’s right-hand man in a matter of hours in a crunch meeting that could decide Europe’s future.
A flurry of negotiations over the Ukraine war are set to take place this week with Trump demanding a speedy end to the conflict while Ukraine looks for a shared agreement with the US before it talks to Russia.
Earlier in the day, the VP led with fighting words after European nations rebuked the US on Thursday for beginning peace talks directly with the Kremlin without including Ukraine.
Vance said America could send troops to Ukraine if Russia doesn’t negotiate in good faith, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The US sending troops to Ukraine is a shot across Putin’s bow and would mark a major shift in its war footing.
While American spies have been operating in Ukraine, the superpower’s soldiers have not officially been in the country.
Vance also threatened to go after Russia if it didn’t want to seriously make a deal.
He said: “There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage.
“I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people.”
The Kremlin has now asked for Vance to explain more about what that “leverage” means as it panics that the US won’t roll over.
Zelensky said of Vance’s comments: “His signals were strong, we are grateful for that.”
PUTIN’S CHILLING WISH LIST
Evil Putin is expected to make a number of deranged demands when he meets Trump to discuss a ceasefire deal.
The tyrant is believed to want to ensure his delusional dreams of recreating a Soviet empire and keep Ukraine as weak as possible.
Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago sparked fears his initial international takeover may be just the first step on his journey to European domination.
His main ambition has always been to establish a new security framework that allows Russia to have a strong Soviet-sphere of influence in Europe, those who have spoken to Vlad revealed.
Moscow also wants to keep all of the land they have stolen since invading in 2022 to make their own borders much wider.
Ukraine would also be banned from joining Nato under Putin’s rule.
The US have appeared to agree to many of these ideas in recent days.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been adamant that there is no chance Ukraine would be allowed to join Nato.
He also admitted Ukraine won’t be allowed to go back to its 2014 borders before the annexing of Crimea.
What is Trump’s Ukraine plan?
TRUMP has already revealed he has a concrete plan in place to end the war and hopes to finalise it “fast.”
Any new deal is said to involve Putin stopping in his tracks and finally putting to an end Russia’s steadily advancing front line.
European soldiers, including Brits, could then be used to guarantee Putin doesn’t invade again by policing a demilitarised zone.
Crucially for Trump and Putin’s relationship, this wouldn’t include American soldiers, say reports.
In return, Ukraine would be barred from joining Nato and would have to declare neutrality.
The country could still join the EU in 2030, and Trump would want the bloc to drive Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction.
The US would continue to support Ukraine’s military, but Kyiv would have to accept Russian ownership of the land Moscow has seized.
Before he took office last month, Trump ambitiously vowed to find a resolution within days.
The alleged outline for peace was leaked to Ukrainian news outlet Strana – but Zelensky’s office slammed it as Russian disinformation.
A leaked peace plan also said Ukraine could still become part of the EU in 2030 and that Trump would want the European bloc to drive Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed a potential deal on Wednesday at a meeting of Ukraine’s military allies at the Nato headquarters in Brussels.
He said a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders before Vlad’s illegal invasion was unrealistic – meaning Russia would be able to keep the land it has stolen.
Hegseth added that his administration doesn’t see any circumstance where Kyiv would be allowed to join Nato.
His speech was regarded as the bluntest statement made by the US on how they believe the conflict can be stopped so far.
