Nigel Farage has demanded an apology after a cabinet minister suggested the Reform UK leader was “on the side of” Jimmy Savile in a row over the Online Safety Act.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle on Tuesday accused Mr Farage of being on the side of "extreme pornographers, peddling hate, peddling violence".
"Peter Kyle's comments on Sky News are disgusting. He should do the right thing and apologise,” Mr Farage posted on social media.
It comes after Reform said on Monday it would repeal legislation aimed at protecting children from harmful content online, arguing that the measures make the UK “a borderline dystopian state”.
Mr Kyle told Sky News: "People have to understand the wild west that children have been living in for too long.
"That ended on my watch. It ended on the watch of this Government. It's a big step forward, believe me."
He added: "I see that Nigel Farage is already saying that he's going to overturn these laws. 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."
Asked to clarify his comments, Mr Kyle 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."
Responding to Mr Farage's call for him to apologise, the Technology Secretary tweeted: "If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that."
Reform UK's former chairman attacked the minister over the comments.
Zia Yusuf said: "I'm 38 years old. That's 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."
He added that the comments showed "how deeply unserious" the Government was about child safety, saying: "Talking about Jimmy Savile in that way does nothing other than denigrate the victims of Jimmy Savile.
"This is a political party that is collapsing in the polls at historic speed, a Prime Minister whose approval is collapsing at historic speed, all they have left is trying to censor British people and insult their political opponents in the most disgusting way."
Presented with a tweet from Mr Kyle declining to apologise for his comments, Mr Yusuf said it was "what tyrants always do, they cloak tyranny in the warm fuzz of safety and hope nobody reads the fine print".
