By Beyza Binnur Donmez
GENEVA (AA) - A senior UK Cabinet minister has pushed back against US Vice President JD Vance’s criticism of the British government regarding religious freedom following the conviction of a former serviceman who silently prayed outside an abortion clinic.
During a speech in Munich on Friday, Vance suggested that Europe was moving away from democratic values, giving the example of the case of Adam Smith-Connor, a 51-year-old who was convicted last year for violating a public space protection order outside an abortion center in Bournemouth in November 2022.
However, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, a prominent Christian in the UK government, rejected Vance’s claims, asserting that access to health services is also a fundamental British value.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Reynolds said: "On the specific example he gave, let’s be clear, we don’t have blasphemy laws in the UK. That’s the right thing."
"I say that, as a Christian: no one is arrested for what they are praying about," he said.
When asked whether Vance’s characterization was incorrect, he responded: "I wouldn’t agree with his characterization of that. But he did say we can disagree on some of this stuff and still be a key part of a relationship of allies and friends."
He also opposed the vice president's notion that "the greatest danger facing Europe was the threat from within."
"I would disagree on that. I think the threat from Russia is real," he said.