Nigel Farage claims Labour are ‘hiding behind children while attacking free speech’ amid Savile slur row

Nigel Farage has accused the Government of ‘hiding behind children while attacking free speech’ as he continued a bitter row with Labour over online safety laws.

The Reform UK leader reacted with fury on Tuesday after Technology Secretary Peter Kyle claimed he was on the side of ‘people like Jimmy Savile’.

Mr Kyle’s outburst came after Reform pledged to scrap the Online Safety Act. Mr Farage has also urged people to sign a petition demanding the legislation is repealed.

Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Kyle doubled down on his attack on Mr Farage by saying proposals to overturn the Act ‘makes my blood boil’.

The Technology Secretary argued repealing the legislation would benefit ‘disgusting predators who contact children and groom them online’.

He added: ‘I make no apologies for putting the interests of vulnerable children ahead of the interests of predators and child abusers – and the Reform leader’s ego.’

But, writing for the same newspaper, Mr Farage claimed Mr Kyle’s attacks on him were ‘a deflection from the real problem with the Online Safety Act’.

‘In the name of safety, the Act poses the biggest threat to freedom of speech in this country in our lifetimes,’ the Reform leader said.

‘In the name of protecting children, the law aims to regulate what adults are allowed to say or see – while doing nothing to make our children safer.’

Nigel Farage has accused the Government of ‘hiding behind children while attacking free speech’ as he continued a bitter row with Labour over online safety laws

The Reform UK leader reacted with fury on Tuesday after Technology Secretary Peter Kyle claimed he was on the side of ‘people like Jimmy Savile’

Mr Farage has demanded an apology from Mr Kyle, describing his remarks about vile sex predator Savile as ‘so absolutely disgusting that it’s almost beyond belief’

Under rules that came into effect last Friday, 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. 

But Mr Farage expressed concerns about ID checks, adding in his newspaper article: ‘This week the final section demanding age verification for accessing adult content online came into force.

‘These apparently well-intentioned checks enforce mandatory ID scans, not just for porn sites, but also for mainstream social media where political or any other content is deemed potentially ‘harmful’.

‘This erosion of privacy could make it easier to identify online critics of government policy on migration and much else.’

The Reform leader noted how there had been a surge in the number of people in the UK signing up for a Virtual Private Network (VPN) in recent days.

This allows internet users to sidestep ID checks and parental controls.

Mr Farage continued: ‘I bow to nobody in my determination to protect families and children. 

‘But I will not allow the Government to hide behind children while attacking the fundamental British value of freedom of speech – and the liberty to tell the truth.’

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander this morning defended the comments by Mr Kyle, her fellow Cabinet minister, about Mr Farage.

Asked if she agreed with Mr Kyle’s accusation that Mr Farage is on the side of ‘extreme pornographers’, Ms Alexander told Sky News: ‘Nigel Farage is, in effect, saying that he is on their side because he’s saying he’s wanting to repeal the Online Safety Act.

‘I think that the position of Reform in saying that they want to repeal the entirety of the Online Safety Act, which is one of the most important pieces of legislation when it comes to the protecting of our children and the safety of young people online.

‘I think that, in effect, what Nigel Farage is saying is that he’s totally happy for there to be a free for all on the internet.

‘That’s not the position of the Labour Government. It’s not the position of me.

‘It’s not the position of Keir Starmer or Peter Kyle, and that is the point that the Technology Secretary was rightly making yesterday.’

Mr Farage has demanded an apology from Mr Kyle, describing his remarks about vile sex predator Savile as ‘so absolutely disgusting that it’s almost beyond belief’.

Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Mr Kyle had said: ‘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.’

Dame Priti Patel, the Tory shadow foreign secretary, said making statements about overturning the Act is ‘very lazy’ and ‘not responsible’.