Farage is on the side of Jimmy Savile, says minister
Mr Farage, the leader of Reform, demanded an immediate apology from Peter Kyle, the Science Secretary, after the latter made the 'disgusting' claim on Tuesday morning.
The Online Safety Act is intended to reduce online harm and protect children, but Reform has said it would scrap the legislation.
Zia Yusuf, the former party chairman, said the Act did 'absolutely nothing to protect children' but worked to 'suppress freedom of speech' and 'force social media companies to censor anti-government speech'.
Mr Kyle said that if Savile, Britain's most prolific paedophile, was still alive 'he would be perpetrating his crimes online'.
He said getting rid of the law would help 'extreme pornographers' and people like Savile and claimed that 'Nigel Farage is saying that he is on their side'.
Mr Kyle told Sky News: 'I see that Nigel Farage is already saying that he is going to overturn these laws.
'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 would be perpetrating his crimes online and Nigel Farage is saying that he is on their side, not the side of children…'
'Turning the clock back'
Mr Kyle doubled down on the claim after he was challenged.
He 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.
'We have now asked to age verify the age at which people can have access to online content so we can protect children from unwanted, dangerous content and also those messaging services where people can get access directly to it.
'Nigel Farage wants to turn the clock right back when all of that, I have absolutely no doubt about it, people are perpetrating more crime online, more danger to children online and Nigel Farage has said he wants to overturn every single one of the laws that keeps children safe in our country.'
Mr Farage called for an apology in a post on X shortly after Mr Kyle's interview.
'Peter Kyle's comments on [Sky News] are disgusting. He should do the right thing and apologise,' the Reform leader said.
But Mr Kyle refused to back down.
If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that. https://t.co/oVArgFvpcW
— Peter Kyle (@peterkyle) July 29, 2025
Savile died in 2011. The TV star and serial sexual abuser managed to conceal his crimes until after his death.
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 including pornography or material that encourages suicide.
This includes introducing age verification for websites and ensuring algorithms do not work to harm children by, for example, pushing such content towards them while they are online.
Failing to comply with the new rules could incur fines of up to £18 million or 10 per cent of a firm's global turnover, whichever is greater.
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