A row has broken out between Labour and Reform after the Technology Secretary accused Nigel Farage of being on the side of “extreme pornographers” and “Jimmy Savile” over his party’s pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act.
Mr Farage labelled the comments “disgusting” and called on Peter Kyle to apologise, after the Cabinet minister said the Reform leader is “on the side of turning the clock back” to when “strangers can get in touch via messaging apps with children”.
Former Reform chairman Zia Yusuf claimed the remarks are “one of the most outrageous and disgusting things apolitician has said in the political arena”.
Under rules that came into effect on July 25, online platforms such as social media sites and search engines must take steps to prevent children accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide.
Mr Yusuf said on Monday that the party would repeal the legislation if they got into Government, claiming it works to “suppress freedom of speech” and “force social media companies to censor anti-government speech”.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Mr Kyle said that children have been living in a “wild west” and labelled the new law “a big step forward”.
He added: “I see that Nigel Farage is already saying that he’s going to overturn these laws. So you know, we have people out there who are extreme pornographers, peddling hate, peddling violence. Nigel Farage is on their side.
“Make no mistake about it, if people like Jimmy Savile were alive today, he’d be perpetrating his crimes online. And Nigel Farage is saying that he’s on their side.”
Asked to clarify his comments, Mr Kyle said: “Nigel Farage is on the side of turning the clock back to the time when strange adults, strangers can get in touch via messaging apps with children.”
Mr Farage reacted on X by calling Mr Kyle’s remarks “disgusting” and said “he should do the right thing and apologise”.
Mr Kyle then doubled down on his comments in response, and said that “if you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that.”
Mr Yusuf claimed that Mr Kyle’s remarks showed “how deeply unserious” the Government was about child safety, adding: “Talking about Jimmy Savile in that way does nothing other than denigrate the victims of Jimmy Savile.”
He told Sky News that the comments are “one of the most outrageous and disgusting things a politician has said in the political arena that I can remember. And that’s quite a high bar, frankly.”
Sir Keir Starmer jumped to defend the legislation from its critics when he met Donald Trump on Monday, telling reporters “We’re not censoring anyone”.
“We’ve got some measures which are there to protect children, in particular, from sites like suicide sites.”
He added: “I personally feel very strongly that we should protect our young teenagers, and that’s what it usually is, from things like suicide sites. I don’t see that as a free speech issue, I see that as child protection.”
