Latest news with #JimmySavile
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Minister 'weaponising' Savile will make Labour MPs queasy - but there's a bigger risk
Sometimes governments blindly idle into political fights and sometimes they go windmilling in with purpose. is most definitely the later of these two. The science secretary's reference to was no slip of the tongue. Ministers seem to believe has made a misjudgement in pledging to scrap internet safety laws, given the massive unease across the country about what children are viewing online. As a result, Kyle is trying to point at their position by stoking a spat with (some would say) inflammatory language that sucks up media attention. It's not exactly a new technique. Think back to 2023 and Labour did something very similar when it ran attack ads accusing of not wanting to lock up child abusers - in a bid to draw attention to the criminal justice system. Go even further back, and it's essentially the same strategy employed on the red Brexit bus in 2016 with its pledge to divert money from the EU to the NHS. All heavily disputable claims that are made to start a row and move the spotlight onto a politically convenient topic. But the risk inherent in tactics like this is that it makes some on your own side feel a little icky. The last politician to invoke Jimmy Savile as part of a political attack was when he accused of failing to investigate the serial child abuser when he was the country's head prosecutor. That led to the resignation of the then prime minister's top policy aide. Read more from Sky News: There will be plenty in who feel similarly queasy about a cabinet minister weaponising one of the country's most notorious paedophiles to lay into an opposition party. The bigger risk though is whether Peter Kyle will really emerge victorious from this fight. is going for the in part because it fits with his party's narrative around mainstream politics trying to silence the concerns of ordinary people. Those disenfranchised sections of society are a key group of voters that Reform are trying to reach. Whether they are outweighed by those put off the party by its recent pronouncements remains to be seen. But for now, this seems to be a fight that Nigel Farage is also keen to have.
Sky News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Minister 'weaponising' Savile will make Labour MPs queasy - but there's a bigger risk
Why you can trust Sky News Sometimes governments blindly idle into political fights and sometimes they go windmilling in with purpose. The extraordinary row picked by Peter Kyle on Sky News on Tuesday is most definitely the later of these two. The science secretary's reference to Jimmy Savile was no slip of the tongue. Ministers seem to believe Reform UK has made a misjudgement in pledging to scrap internet safety laws, given the massive unease across the country about what children are viewing online. As a result, Kyle is trying to point at their position by stoking a spat with (some would say) inflammatory language that sucks up media attention. It's not exactly a new technique. Think back to 2023 and Labour did something very similar when it ran attack ads accusing Rishi Sunak of not wanting to lock up child abusers - in a bid to draw attention to the criminal justice system. Go even further back, and it's essentially the same strategy employed on the red Brexit bus in 2016 with its pledge to divert money from the EU to the NHS. All heavily disputable claims that are made to start a row and move the spotlight onto a politically convenient topic. But the risk inherent in tactics like this is that it makes some on your own side feel a little icky. The last politician to invoke Jimmy Savile as part of a political attack was Boris Johnson when he accused Sir Keir Starmer of failing to investigate the serial child abuser when he was the country's head prosecutor. That led to the resignation of the then prime minister's top policy aide. There will be plenty in Labour who feel similarly queasy about a cabinet minister weaponising one of the country's most notorious paedophiles to lay into an opposition party. The bigger risk though is whether Peter Kyle will really emerge victorious from this fight. Nigel Farage is going for the Online Safety Act in part because it fits with his party's narrative around mainstream politics trying to silence the concerns of ordinary people. Those disenfranchised sections of society are a key group of voters that Reform are trying to reach. Whether they are outweighed by those put off the party by its recent pronouncements remains to be seen.
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘Savile' smear won't stop me defending free speech
It was just after 7AM yesterday when I received a phone message that a Labour cabinet minister had accused me, live on TV, of being in bed with Britain's most infamous paedophile, Jimmy Savile. Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, told Sky News that, because Reform UK wants to abolish the Online Safety Act, I was on the side of predators and pornographers. 'Make no mistake about it,' Kyle assured the somewhat gobsmacked interviewer, '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…' How low can these people go? How desperate must Labour be to imagine that smearing me in such a disgusting way will help their losing cause? We asked Kyle for an apology for his revolting slander. Instead, like the worst kind of online troll, this sorry excuse for a British secretary of state simply doubled down on the abuse. 'If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act,' he tweeted, 'you are on the side of predators. It's as simple as that.' No minister, it is not as simple as that, far from it. All of this is of course a deflection from the real problem with the Online Safety act, proudly passed by the previous Tory government and enthusiastically enforced by Keir Starmer's Labour. Like Big Brother's Ministry of Truth in 1984, this Orwellian law does the exact opposite of what it claims. In the name of safety, the Act poses the biggest threat to freedom of speech in this country in our lifetimes. 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. That is why Reform UK is pledged to repealing the Online Safety Act. The Act gives the official state regulator, Ofcom, the power to impose huge fines if big tech platforms fail to do enough to censor what can be said on social media. 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. If the Government's priority online is truly protecting the children, then why has the Home Office set up a new elite squad of police officers to monitor social media for 'anti-migrant sentiment ', as reported in The Telegraph this week? It also seems suspicious that the Labour Government is so keen to protect teenagers from receiving 'harmful' political messages, at the same time as it wants to grant 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote. These checks won't prevent enterprising youngsters from accessing adult sites anyway. The number of people in the UK signing up for a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which allows them to sidestep ID scans and parental controls, has soared. And once teenagers are prompted to get a VPN, they can even use it to access the murky depths of the dark web. It should surely come as a shock to nobody that teenagers know how the internet works better than the dinosaurs who drafted and enforce this worse-than-useless law. The dangers inherent in the Online Safety Act don't end with ID checks. The extraordinarily wide-ranging Section 179 makes it an offence to publish 'false' content which causes 'non-trivial psychological harm'. Who is to decide what speech is 'false' or 'harmful'? Like the Roman once asked, who censors the censor? We already know that coverage of recent protests at a hotel housing illegal migrants in Leeds has been censored, along with posts criticising the Government's soft migration policies and exposing the truth about Britain's mainly-Muslim rape gangs. Social media platforms such as X/Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are compelled to censor such potentially 'harmful' content proactively. If they fail to crack down fast and hard enough, Ofcom can fine them up to 10 per cent of their worldwide revenues – and prosecute the managers. Little wonder that their inclination is to censor first and ask questions later. And there could be worse to come. Section 44 of the Act empowers the secretary of state to unilaterally order Ofcom to make its rules even tougher. In future, what the British people are permitted to say could be dictated at the whim of a government minister. The secretary of state who oversees Ofcom today? Peter Kyle. Do you want the minister for political slander setting the rules for what can be said on social media? Passed by Tories, enforced by Labour, the execrable Online Safety Act is an indictment of the establishment uniparty and the contempt it has for our liberties. We saw last summer how, after the brutal murder of three young girls in Southport, the suppression of the full facts only stoked the fires of social unrest. 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.
The Journal
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Nigel Farage demands apology from Minister who said the Reform leader is on Jimmy Savile's side
NIGEL FARAGE HAS reiterated his demands for a Cabinet minister to apologise for accusing him of being on the side of 'extreme pornographers'. A row broke out this morning after Peter Kyle said the Reform UK leader is on the side of 'people like Jimmy Savile' over the party's pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act. Farage labelled Technology Secretary Kyle's remarks as 'below the belt' and 'so absolutely disgusting that it's almost beyond belief', and urged people to sign a petition calling for the legislation to be repealed. Former Reform chair Zia Yusuf said yesterday that the party would repeal the legislation if they got into Government. 'I see that Nigel Farage is already saying that he's going to overturn these laws,' Kyle told Sky News. '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.' Responding to Kyle on a live stream this morning, Farage said: 'Just how low can the Labour Government sink in its desperation? Advertisement 'Yes, of course they're in trouble. They're well behind us in the opinion polls. But frankly, to say that I would do anything that would in any way aid and abet people like Jimmy Savile, it's so below the belt it's almost not true.' He also reiterated his demand for an apology and added: 'We're not going to get one. I think perhaps the best thing we can do is to sign the petition to repeal the Online Safety Act. That's what I'm going to do today. I think it makes sense. I'm deeply worried about the implications for free speech.' Under rules that came into effect on 25 July, 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. Yusuf has said that the laws work to 'suppress freedom of speech' and 'force social media companies to censor anti-Government speech'. After being asked by Farage to apologise on social media, Kyle doubled down on his comments, claiming that wanting to 'overturn' the Act puts somebody 'on the side of predators'. Yusuf has claimed that 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.' Prime Minister Keir Starmer jumped to defend the legislation from its critics when he met Donald Trump yesterday, 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.' Starmer 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.'
South Wales Guardian
19 hours ago
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
Farage labels Kyle's comments ‘below the belt' and reiterates call for apology
A row broke out on Tuesday morning after Peter Kyle said the Reform UK leader is on the side of 'people like Jimmy Savile' over the party's pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act. Mr Farage labelled Technology Secretary Mr Kyle's remarks as 'below the belt' and 'so absolutely disgusting that it's almost beyond belief', and urged people to sign a petition calling for the legislation to be repealed. Former Reform chair Zia Yusuf said on Monday that the party would repeal the legislation if they got into Government. We talked to mums about the Online Safety Act 👇 — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (@SciTechgovuk) July 25, 2025 'I see that Nigel Farage is already saying that he's going to overturn these laws,' Mr Kyle told Sky News. '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.' Peter Kyle's comments on @SkyNews are disgusting. He should do the right thing and apologise. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) July 29, 2025 Responding to Mr Kyle on a live stream on Tuesday morning, Mr Farage said: 'Just how low can the Labour Government sink in its desperation? 'Yes, of course they're in trouble. They're well behind us in the opinion polls. But frankly, to say that I would do anything that would in any way aid and abet people like Jimmy Savile, it's so below the belt it's almost not true.' He also reiterated his demand for an apology and added: 'We're not going to get one. I think perhaps the best thing we can do is to sign the petition to repeal the Online Safety Act. That's what I'm going to do today. I think it makes sense. I'm deeply worried about the implications for free speech.' 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 has said that the laws work to 'suppress freedom of speech' and 'force social media companies to censor anti-Government speech'. After being asked by Mr Farage to apologise on social media, Mr Kyle doubled down on his comments, claiming that wanting to 'overturn' the Act puts somebody 'on the side of predators'. If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that. — Peter Kyle (@peterkyle) July 29, 2025 Mr Yusuf has 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.' The Prime Minister 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.'
