Nigel Farage is taking the side of Jimmy Savile and other child abusers by criticising Online Safety Act says cabinet minister in free speech row
Peter Kyle also accused the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of being on the side of 'extreme pornographers' over the party's pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act.
The Technology Secretary made the astonishing outburst as he defended the law, which came into effect last Friday and requires social media sites and search engines to take steps to prevent children accessing harmful content like pornography.
Critics including Mr Farage claim that it is being used to stifle free speech by blocking people from seeing some political statements online, especially those by right-wing figures.
But Mr Kyle told Sky News he had seen no evidence that the Online Safety Act 'goes too far'.
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.'
Mr Farage immediately labelled the comments 'disgusting' and demanded an apology.
Former BBC television presenter and DJ Savile, who died aged 84 in 2011, is believed to have been one of Britain's most prolific paedophiles, whose crimes went undiscovered or unchallenged for decades.
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.'
Reform UK would scrap the Online Safety Act as a 'dystopian' infringement of free speech, the party announced yesterday.
During the press conference, Mr Farage acknowledged that his party did not have 'a perfect answer' for what could replace the
Act, but said his party had 'more access to some of the best tech brains, not just in the country but in the world' and would 'make a much better job of it'.
Former party chairman Zia Yusuf said the Act, intended to reduce online harm, did 'absolutely nothing to protect children' but worked to 'suppress freedom of speech' and 'force social media companies to censor anti-government speech'.
Addressing a press conference at Reform's headquarters in Westminster, Mr Yusuf said: 'We will repeal this Act as one of the first things a Reform government does.'
The intervention came after it emerged that X blocked a powerful speech on grooming gangs by Tory minister Katie Lam in Parliament this year.
Meanwhile, footage of arrests during asylum seeker hotel protests was also blocked 'due to local laws', according to the social media platform.
After a demonstration outside the Britannia Hotel in Leeds at the weekend, X users said the site blocked arrest footage.
They were shown the message: 'Due to local laws, we are temporarily restricting access to this content until X estimates your age.'
Last week, the law changed to require websites to check users are over 18 before allowing them to access 'harmful' material such as pornography or suicide material.
Failing to comply with the new rules could incur fines of up to £18million or 10 per cent of a firm's global turnover.
Asked about concerns the law has seen posts wrongly removed from social media, the Technology Secretary told Sky News: 'I have not seen any evidence that the Bill goes too far at all.'
He added: 'I will be monitoring the impact, but I have not so far seen anything that gives me concern for anyone about free speech grounds.
'We have very strident protections for free speech in this country.
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