Leader of right-wing Reform UK Nigel Farage demanded an apology on Tuesday after the head of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s tech branch accused the conservative Member of Parliament (MP) of “siding” with sexual predators amid clashes over a new online safety law.

In remarks from Reform UK’s headquarters, Farage said accusations levied at him earlier in the day by Technology Secretary Peter Kyle were “disgusting” and “below the belt,” and he called on the labor secretary to retract his comments.  

Farage’s demands came after Kyle said the right-wing party’s insistence that they will repeal the law if they gain a majority and sweep No 10 in the next general election, was akin to “turning the clock back to the time when strange adults…[could] get in touch via messaging apps with children.”

Adam Smith-Connor was required to pay $12,000 for praying in the buffer zone of an abortion clinic in 2022. (Alliance Defending Freedom UK)

Concerns over non-internet-based freedom of speech restrictions have also arisen in recent years, as in the 2022 case involving Adam Smith-Connor, who was arrested for quietly praying for his aborted son within a buffer zone of an abortion clinic and forced to pay roughly $12,000 in fines.

Divisions over the Online Safety Act have escalated in recent months after the law, which was first introduced in 2023, put the legal onus on social media companies and online platforms to protect users, particularly children, from criminal and harmful material through algorithm-based policies and age restrictions in March.

However, some have argued the law oversteps and now risks violating freedom of speech by forcing social media companies to “censor” anti-government content.

When President Donald Trump was asked on Monday while sitting next to Starmer whether he was concerned about his own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump jokingly responded, “I only say good things about him and his country.”

Starmer replied to the question and said, “We’re not censoring anyone.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and President Donald Trump look on during a bilateral meeting at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, on Monday, July 28, 2025. (Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Failure to comply with the new legal rules could mean any platform or social media company is hit with a fine of up to 10% of a firm’s global turnover or nearly $24 million, whichever is greater.

The U.K.-based fight was renewed this month after new restrictions under the law came into effect that require online platforms to take action to prevent children from accessing content relating to self-harm, dangerous pranks or challenges, suicide, eating disorders, pornography, and violent or bullying-related content.