Tech Sec Peter Kyle has once again refused to apologise to Nigel Farage, issuing a new statement amid their furious row.

Mr Kyle tweeted: “This is what the Act you would scrap makes platforms do:

– Detect and remove horrific child sexual abuse material, using hash-matching.

– Prevent grooming and stop strange adults messaging kids.

– Keep children’s profiles and locations hidden.

– Stop kids seeing porn.”

Independent commentator John Rentoul warns that Peter Kyle’s Jimmy Savile attack has “handed Reform a free gift“.

The Labour-aligned commentator warns Kyle has “destroyed his own arguments for the Online Safety Act.”

“The attempt to link Farage with a notorious child sex abuser is gratuitous and offensive. It makes Kyle seem desperate, and allows Farage to pose as the wronged party. Farage’s criticisms of the Act seem more credible after Kyle’s outburst than before.”

Labour MP Mike Tapp insists Reform’s policy would help paedophiles.

He tweeted: “With a weird orange glow, Farage says that it’s “almost not true”, is he confirming @peterkyle is right?

“Repealing our child protection laws only aids paedophiles.”

A Tory MP has warned that politicians in other countries are becoming increasingly concerned about the state of free speech in Britain.

Peter Bedford said: Having spent the last week visiting several US States, speaking with dozens of politicians cross-party, there is genuine concern about ‘free speech’ in the UK.

“The Online Safety Act, Equality Act, and other insidious pieces of legislation are doing significant harm to our democracy.”

Nigel Farage says given he’s not going to get an apology, viewers should sign the petition calling for the repeal of the Online Safety Act.

The petition already has 385,400 signatures, with Mr Farage saying he’ll be adding his signature later today.

“I think it makes sense. I’m deeply worried about the implications for free speech, and what is absolutely clear to me – a problem that runs right through British government – is that legislation passed by the Tories, supported by Labour, no doubt aided and abetted all the way through by civil servants, none of them have got a clue what they’re doing.

“With people like Zia, we’ve got the real expertise.”

Pointing to the government’s terrorism tsar saying the OSA won’t fix problems, Mr Farage asks Peter Kyle: “Is the government’s own terrorism tsar on the side of Jimmy Savile as well?”

Nigel Farage asks why, if this bill is about protecting children, the government has set up an “elite police unit which will monitor what we say about immigration and asylum hotels too?”

“Jonathan Hall KC, who is our terrorism tsar, he said very clearly this morning on LBC: ‘I’m afraid the online safety act is not going to be the solution.”

Mr Yusuf says anyone defending the OSA has to explain why Section 44 of the act exists, which allows a single government minister to unilaterally Ofcom to rewrite the rules on a whip without scrutiny.

He also highlights section 179 of the act which creates a threshold where it’s illegal to say something you know to be false which causes “non trivial psychological harm”.

“We know this Labour government love locking people up for things that they say”.

Zia Yusuf argues that not only are teenagers already “running rings” around “dinosoar” politicians, but the OSA is pushing them to more dangerous corners of the internet.

Mr Yusuf explains that teens are now already using VPNs to get around both the online safety act and any parental controls put in place by adults.

He adds: “Not only does [the OSA] send people to VPNs – which by the way takes them much more likely to go to places like the dark web which makes the ordinary web pale in comparison – when we talk about predators… Katie Lam’s speech in the Commons, where she excoriated the record of people who covered up the appalling rapegangs, has been censored.

“The legal transcript of one of the rape gang legal trials, that’s been censored.”

Reform is hammering Labour over the clear rise in VPN (Virtual Private Network) use since the OSA came into force.

VPNs can be used to trick your internet router into thinking you’re accessing a website from a different country, meaning you can get around Britain-specific laws and protections.

Nigel Farage claims the OSA will spend more time regulating the free speech of adults rather than protecting children from harm.

He adds: “Isn’t it ironic, that 16 and 17-year-olds will now find it impossible to access all sorts of material on the internet including current affairs and politics and yet Labour want to give them the vote.”

Nigel Farage claims Labour’s Savile attack is deflection from the failure of the bill to protect children.

He adds: “If it was designed to protect children, it may well have been drawn up by people who don’t know what they’re doing.”

Nigel Farage brands Peter Kyle’s Jimmy Savile attack “so absolutely disgusting that it’s almost beyond belief”.

“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 is frankly so below the belt…”

Nigel Farage doubles down on criticism of the Online Safety Act, branding it a threat to free speech on social media.

Labour MPs are coming out in support of Peter Kyle’s attack on Nigel Farage.

Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) says “I agree with @peterkyle”.

Conor Naismith (Crewe) says “Nigel may not like @peterkyle’s comments but they are absolutely correct.

“Threats to our children’s safety no longer exist exclusively in the physical world, they are more and more online.

“Reform UK would scrap measures that protect our children from online paedophiles.”