Desperate bid to rescue free speech in Britain as bill launched to form 'First Amendment for the UK'

The warnings of Mr Byrne, an American, follow a number of high-profile interventions into UK free speech from across the Atlantic.

Speaking to GB News, he said the Bill – dubbed a "First Amendment for the UK" – was designed to "put locks on the doors" currently stopping the Government censoring Britons.

The US is building a website for Britons overseas to access online content banned by the Labour Government, led by Under-Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah B Rogers, who has long raised concerns over free speech in the UK.

Ms Rogers previously told the People's Channel "nothing is off the table" to open up "authoritarian, closed societies" which censor the internet.

The new Bill has been hailed as a direct mirror to the US First Amendment, which would work in the confines of Britain's constitutional system.

Now introduced after months of careful planning, it contains 32 sections, plans for seven Acts of Parliament to be fully repealed, six schedules, four new public order offences and two new communications offences.

A joint statement by members of the ASI board described free speech as having been in jeopardy for almost 50 years.

The statement reads: "Every year, thousands of citizens are arrested for what they say online - sometimes, what is said is unpleasant and offensive, other times, it is a misunderstanding of the laws in place.

"But what cannot be debated is the simple fact that in a nation which seeks to prosper, respect human rights, and allow its people to reach fulfilment, freedom of speech must be sacrosanct.

"As with so much of the rest of our political economy, the state has attempted to engineer comfort and protection against the necessary unpleasantries of life, and hearing objectionable opinions or statements is another fact that has been attempted to be swept away".

A survey by Lord Ashcroft found 42 per cent of people have stopped themselves from expressing their true opinions on controversial matters.

The ASI said "If this is truly the case, it is no wonder that anxiety and concern is directed towards those institutions which prosecute "the excesses of contention".

Mr Byrne, alongside Michael Reiners and Elijah Granet, have jointly authored the Freedom of Speech Bill, described as a "rigorously drafted and legally sound Bill that would redress the abolition of the ancient liberty of freedom of speech, and enshrine the right to free expression by the public, with narrow and objective exclusions".

Mr Byrne said: "This is going to be offered to the British public - It's going to be available for anyone who's interested in it to pick it up.

"It's our vision of what a free Britain looks like, which is going to be very different from the political parties and other people.

"But really, this is a proof of concept. It's designed to teach English politicians and English activists, listen, there is a way within your constitutional system that you can replicate American free speech protections and we think that this is the approach".

The free speech campaigner affirmed the act was "non-partisan" and has called on cross-party activists to support getting the bill enshrined into law.

Probed on whether regulators like Ofcom were already protecting free speech in Britain, the ASI senior fellow described them as examples of the "Government controlling speech".

He said: "This bill is designed to something very simple: It gets the Government out of the business of policing the opinions of the British people.

"The Government doesn't get a say in the future that we see and what people say and think.

"It's not going to be able to arrest people for it, it's not going to be able to penalise them for it, it's not going to be able to force them to say things that they don't want to say," he added, citing Government-mandated DEI schemes.

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter