Freedom of Speech an “American concept”? Tell that to Euripides, who had Theseus say in The Suppliants:

Freedom’s mark is also seen in this: “Who hath wholesome counsel to declare unto the state?” And he who chooses to do so gains renown, while he, who hath no wish, remains silent. What greater equality can there be in a city?

This was also quoted by John Milton in and around the time of his plea for freedom of the press in the 1640s. He used it as the preface to his Areopagitica in 1664.

That great old socialist Anthony Wedgwood-Benn, sorry, Tony Benn, is apt to ascribe the great English tradition of Freedom of Speech to the Levellers.

Yes, an American invention. Perhaps what Mr Steacy meant to say was the America seems to be the only place still to value this great legacy of the Ancients and our English forefathers.