Nigel Farage should apologise 'morning, noon, and night' to every child for failing to protect them, Science Secretary blasts
Nigel Farage has been told he owes every child and parent in the country an apology for vowing to rip up the Online Safety Act.
Listen to this article
Science Secretary Peter Kyle exclusively told LBC Mr Farage is the one who should apologise, not him.
The Reform boss demanded Mr Kyle say sorry after accusing him of siding with prolific sexual predator Jimmy Savile by opposing the government’s online safety law.
When grilled by LBC on whether Mr Farage would be getting an apology, Mr Kyle said: "Nigel Farage should be apologising for one very simple reason, not me. Because... I'm implementing a law which is stopping... dangerous content from getting into the feeds of children's handsets.
"We have predators and paedophiles who were able to get into the direct messages and feeds of young children... now, the law now puts extremely tough, rigorous measures to prevent that from happening."
Read more: Davey vows to challenge Farage and calls for ‘Swedish-style’ budget changes
Read more: Wikipedia loses High Court challenge against UK Online Safety Act verification rules
When asked about the Reform UK leaders’ calls for an apology, the science minister said: "Nigel Farage wants to overturn that law and he wants me to apologise?
"Well, I think he owes the country one simple explanation.
"If he's going to overturn the law that prevents that from happening, what is he going to replace it with?
"I have insisted that law enforcement and regulators keep our children safe. What is he going to do in specific terms? And until he can do that, he should be apologising morning, noon, and night to every child and every parent in our country."
Earlier this month, Mr Kyle accused Mr Farage of siding with "extreme pornographers" and "Jimmy Savile" over Reform UK’s pledge to repeal the Online Safety Act if elected.
Ministers backed up Mr Kyle's attack, which was reportedly sanctioned directly by Downing Street.
Mr Kyle made the remarks while defending the Act and the newly introduced age-verification measures now in place on websites hosting harmful or adult content, which came in last month.
Labour's Jess Phillips waded into the row, claiming Mr Farage’s pledge empowers "modern-day Jimmy Savilles".
Ms Phillips, the Home Office minister responsible for safeguarding and tackling violence against women and girls, suggested that Mr Farage prioritised "clicks for his monetised social media accounts" over the online safety of children.
LBC has contacted Mr Farage for comment.
