It had been expected that Vance would use his speech at the Munich Security Conference to address possible talks to end the war in Ukraine. Instead, he spent the majority accusing European governments - including the UK's - of retreating from their values, and ignoring voter concerns on migration and free speech.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Friday took a swipe at European governments for what he described as their censorship of free speech and their political opponents, while largely avoiding the question of how to resolve the Ukraine war.