- Former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has accused US Vice President JD Vance and other right-wing politicians of hypocrisy for criticizing UK speech laws while suppressing dissent in the US.
- In a BBC Newsnight interview, Clegg condemned the Trump administration’s ties to Silicon Valley, likening them to Chinese-style political control.
- He also warned that the UK’s Online Safety Act risks over-censoring legal speech, potentially empowering populist figures like Nigel Farage.
- Clegg left Meta earlier this year, citing discomfort with tech leaders aligning closely with Trump.
Nick Clegg isn’t holding back — and his latest remarks have sent shockwaves through both Westminster and Washington.
In a fiery interview with BBC Newsnight, the former UK deputy prime minister accused US Vice President JD Vance and other right-wing figures of “rank hypocrisy” for attacking British speech laws while allegedly silencing critics back home. Clegg, who until recently held a senior role at Meta, said the Trump administration’s relationship with Silicon Valley is beginning to resemble “Chinese-style cooperation,” where tech giants operate under political influence.
He pointed to Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, where the vice president criticized the UK’s Online Safety Act and cited the conviction of a British army veteran for silently praying outside an abortion clinic as evidence of declining liberties. But Clegg argued that such critiques ring hollow when American politicians return home and, in his words, “intimidate and bully” their own opponents.
Clegg also took aim at the UK’s own approach to online regulation, warning that over-policing offensive but legal speech could backfire. He cited police making 30 arrests a day for online posts and said vague censorship laws only fuel populist voices like Nigel Farage.
The former Lib Dem leader revealed that seeing Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos line up behind Donald Trump at his January inauguration was one of the final straws that led him to leave Meta. He said tech innovation thrives best when kept at arm’s length from politics — not when it’s in politicians’ pockets.
Clegg is currently promoting his upcoming book How to Save the Internet, which explores the intersection of free speech, tech regulation, and democratic resilience. And if this interview is any indication, he’s not afraid to name names.
