Donald Trump ‘could offer asylum’ to Britons prosecuted for views on immigration and gender

Senior officials close to the President are said to have expressed particular concern over the cases of Livia Tossici-Bolt and Adam Smith Connor.

A source close to the decision making process told The Telegraph: “There are some people inside the administration that are actively scouting for cases."

The move is not thought to be a top priority for the US government; however, the source described the proposal as “serious” and said senior officials are “beginning to consider” granting political asylum to British citizens targeted over alleged thought crimes.

The Trump administration has long criticised Britain’s handling of free speech.

During a meeting earlier this year, Vice President JD Vance delivered a stark warning to Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

He told Mr Lammy that Britain risked walking down a “very dark path” of “censoring rather than engaging with a diverse array of opinions”.

Mr Vance also spoke out against a “backslide in conscience rights” in Britain at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year.

He 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.”

During a meeting between President Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer in the Oval Office, the 41-year-old warned that attacks on free speech not only adversely impacted Britons, but American companies - “and by extension, American citizens”.

After his comments, Sir Keir retorted: “We’ve had free speech for a very long time, it will last a long time, and we are very proud of that.”

In October, reports suggested Mr Trump was considering offering political asylum to Europeans opposed to migration.

The President is believed to have been advised to give priority to Europeans “targeted for peaceful expression of views online, such as opposition to mass migration or support for ‘populist’ political parties”.

On Friday, Mr Trump told GB News in a world exclusive interview that Europe is "not the same place" as mass migration continues to sweep the continent.

He told presenter Bev Turner: "I'm saddened to see what happened in Europe with the immigration. I think above all else, the immigration, but the bad taxing policies.

"When you look at, you know, Europe is not the same place. I can't say every place, but pretty much almost every place. There are a couple of places."

Earlier this year, the President granted refugee status to white South Africans who said they were facing racial discrimination in their country.

Although most refugee admissions were suspended shortly after Mr Trump took office in January, he quickly set up a programme for Afrikaners claiming to have faced job discrimination and racial violence.

Elon Musk is believed to have been a driving force behind the scheme.

The tech tycoon has also heavily criticised Sir Keir and British police forces on social media in recent months over their handling of free speech issues.

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