Donald Trump’s vice-president has claimed free speech is under threat in the UK.

US Vice-president JD Vance lectured European nations including the United Kingdom on free speech, during remarks before the Munich Security Conference.

He highlighted the case of Southampton physiotherapist Adam Smith-Connor, who was convicted last October of breaching a safe zone outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth by silently praying. The US Vice-president said: “In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”

Mr Vance said: “A little over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith-Connor, a 51-year-old physiotherapist and an Army veteran, with the heinous crime of standing 50 metres from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minutes, not obstructing anyone, not interacting with anyone, just silently praying on his own.”

However Mr Vance attempted to play down splits as he met British Foreign Secretary David Lammy for talks in Munich, saying: “We have a lot in common, and the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States will remain very strong.

“We are going to talk about something that he and I spoke about a couple of years ago, which is our shared belief that Europe really should take a big role in its own security, and I’m glad the Foreign Secretary agrees with me on that.”

The Foreign Secretary said: “We are committed to increasing defence and encourage our friends across Europe to do the same, and of course we have got important issues to discuss on Ukraine and how we support Ukraine at this difficult moment, and also broader issues of UK-US security.”

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer defied US President Donald Trump by insisting Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to joining NATO despite the US appearing to rule out membership.

The Prime Minister issued a personal pledge to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a telephone conversation, days after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declared that Washington “does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome”.

It followed Mr Trump’s shock announcement that he had begun talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the three-year war in Ukraine, raising fears that Russia would be allowed to keep some of the territory it has seized during its attempted invasion.

Mr Trump said the pair agreed to “work together, very closely” and insisted he could “trust” Moscow’s leader while calling for Russia

Sir Keir told Mr Zelensky that the US and Russia must not be allowed to agree a peace deal without Ukraine’s involvement. A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “He was unequivocal that there could be no talks about Ukraine, without Ukraine.

“Ukraine needed strong security guarantees, further lethal aid and a sovereign future, and it could count on the UK to step up, he added.

“The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s commitment to Ukraine being on an irreversible path to NATO, as agreed by Allies at the Washington Summit last year.”

The Ukrainian president warned that Mr Putin is “definitely not preparing for negotiations” and would “continue deceiving the world”, as he appealed for unified pressure from allies on Russia.

Downing Street also revealed that Sir Keir spoke directly to Mr Trump on Thursday night and discussed plans for the Prime Minister to visit the US