US gov’t report documents alarming decline in rights for UK citizens

August 19, 2025

A new report from the U.S. State Department says the human rights situation in the U.K. worsened in 2024, with the use of criminal and civil law to restrict expression.

The Christian Post reports that the “2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” released last week by the U.S. government, includes a section detailing how “the human rights situation worsened in the United Kingdom.”

The report warns that buffer zones around abortion facilities are contributing to the erosion of civil liberties as individuals have been prosecuted for praying silently or offering information within these zones.

The recently released report specifically cites the October 2024 conviction of British Army veteran Adam Smith-Connor, who was found guilty of silently praying across the street from an abortion clinic.

Smith-Connor was ordered to pay the equivalent of $12,000 in legal costs and his case was cited in a speech by U.S. Vice President JD Vance during the Munich Security Conference earlier this year.

According to the Christian Post, the report confirms that buffer zone legislation criminalizes “efforts to influence others when inside a restricted area, even through prayer.”

The report also takes aim at the U.K.’s Online Safety Act of 2023, which gives Ofcom, the British communications regulator, authority over American tech companies with a substantial U.K. user base, regardless of whether they operate directly in the country.

It also sounds a warning regarding the expansion of regulatory powers to weaken or remove effective encryption, reducing privacy for users of messaging platforms.

The U.S. report notes that these measures, along with Scotland’s hate crime legislation are contributing to a pattern of legal and institutional pressure on expression and the rights of conscience in the U.K.

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