LONDON (Reuters) – Britain expects the United States to continue its tradition of protecting media freedoms, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday when asked about protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.

While the demonstrations have been largely peaceful, police in some cities have used force against journalists and protesters, and protesters have clashed with police.

Asked during an interview on Sky News whether he condemned police violence in the United States, Raab said: “Anyone that saw the footage of the treatment of George Floyd would have been moved and distressed as I was, and I think seeing the protests and the violence is very distressing.

“I want to see America come together … you mention media freedoms and journalistic freedoms, of course the U.S. has a fine tradition of protecting all of those things and yes we do expect that to continue.”(This story refiles to fix typo in headline)