London, 9 Sep 2025 – Human rights advocate Radha Stirling and founder of Detained in Dubai, has issued a stark warning that Britain is sliding into Gulf style authoritarianism, following a surge of arrests over social media posts and online commentary.
“When a comedian like Graham Linehan can be arrested at Heathrow Airport for his posts, Britain has crossed a dangerous line,” Stirling said. “And when Lucy Connolly can be sentenced to more than two years in prison for online comments calling for mass deportations, it proves that ordinary citizens are just as vulnerable. The UK is punishing speech itself, not just conduct. For years I have criticised the UAE for its vague cybercrime laws that criminalise dissent and intimidate journalists. Now the UK is mirroring those same tactics, effectively acting like the eighth Emirate”.
“For nearly two decades, I have warned about the dangers of vague, overreaching cybercrime laws in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region, laws that criminalise criticism, silence dissent, and intimidate journalists into silence. These laws were rightly condemned by the UK and the international community as tools of authoritarian control.
“It is therefore chilling to now witness the United Kingdom, a country that has long prided itself as a beacon of free speech and democratic values, descending into the same pattern of repression. The recent wave of arrests over social media posts, with police detaining thousands each year including journalists, commentators, and ordinary citizens, mirrors precisely the authoritarian tactics I have fought against in the Middle East.
“Britain is criminalising speech on the vaguest of grounds, what is deemed ‘offensive’, ‘grossly indecent’, or politically inconvenient. This weaponisation of law has turned public discourse into a minefield, where journalists fear publishing, comedians fear performing, and members of the public fear even pressing ‘share’. The chilling effect is unmistakable and devastating for democracy.
“Much of this crisis stems from political leadership. I warned years ago of the danger of electing a prosecutor as Prime Minister. A prosecutor does not naturally champion liberty, they specialise in convictions. Keir Starmer’s record, particularly his pursuit of Julian Assange, should have been a clear warning sign. The machinery of prosecution, once turned against free speech and dissent, corrodes democracy itself.
“Free speech is not a luxury, it is the foundation of an open society. To see Britain importing the worst habits of authoritarian regimes is a betrayal of its people and its history.
“What is more, this sets a dangerous precedent for the world. If Britain can prosecute foreigners for posts made outside its borders, then Americans, Europeans, Australians and others could find themselves arrested when they land at Heathrow for tweets or Facebook posts they published years ago in their own countries. This practice essentially normalises the extraterritorial application of national laws, meaning every traveller risks prosecution abroad for online expression made legally in another jurisdiction. As soon as we accept that principle as a precedent, we put every citizen on the planet in jeopardy.”
Stirling concluded: “I call upon the British government to urgently review these dangerous laws, to cease the persecution of individuals for online expression, and to reaffirm in action, not empty rhetoric, its commitment to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to dissent. Anything less signals to the world that Britain has abandoned the very values it once stood to defend.
“But this is not only the responsibility of government. Citizens of the United Kingdom must recognise what is at stake. It is their voices, their rights, and their future that are being curtailed. If the British public does not push back against these authoritarian measures, the slide into censorship will only accelerate. History shows that once freedoms are surrendered, they are rarely returned. The people of Britain must demand better, for themselves and for the generations to come.”