Newsnight’s Victoria Derbyshire had no time for ex-Trump ambassador Carla Sands’ bizarre take on free speech—especially when it involved a claim so absurd it had people laughing live on air.
Sands’ ‘jail in the UK’ blunder
Appearing on BBC Newsnight, Sands—formerly the US ambassador to Denmark—tried to defend Republican senator JD Vance after he accused European countries of suppressing free speech.
Derbyshire wasn’t having it, pointing out the hypocrisy of Vance “cuddling up” to Vladimir Putin while making those accusations.
That’s when Sands made the wild claim that more people are jailed in the UK for free speech than in Russia.
Yes, really.
Derbyshire’s reaction: ‘My goodness…’
Derbyshire, struggling to keep a straight face, immediately asked:
“My goodness, I don’t know where you’ve got that from.”
She then pointed out that another guest on the show was “laughing their head off” at the claim—because, honestly, who wouldn’t?
The internet reacts: ‘Radicalised, insane, or just stupid?’
The exchange quickly went viral, with people on social media mocking Sands’ claim.
Former Newsnight correspondent Lewis Goodall summed up the reaction, calling Sands and her ilk “radicalised, insane, plain stupid, or some combination of all three.”
Ouch.
Another day, another bonkers take
It seems that whenever Trump-world figures turn up in the UK media, they bring a fresh dose of nonsense with them.
But even by their standards, claiming the UK locks up more people for free speech than Russia is next-level ridiculous.
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