Angela Rayner has accused Nigel Farage of "failing a generation of young women" with his party's plan to scrap the Online Safety Act, arguing that the move would lead to a rise in "revenge porn". The deputy prime minister's comments come as Labour launches a series of attack adverts against the Reform UK leader.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Rayner highlighted the risks of removing the legislation, which was introduced to clamp down on intimate image abuse. "Intimate image abuse is a devastating crime and contributes to a vile misogynistic culture on social media that we know translates into physical spaces too," she said. "Nigel Farage risks failing a generation of young women with his dangerous and irresponsible plans to scrap online safety laws."
She added: "Scrapping safeguards and having no viable alternative plan in place to halt the floodgates of abuse that could open is an appalling dereliction of duty. It's time for Farage to tell women and girls across Britain how he would keep them safe online."
Reform UK promised to scrap the Online Safety Act at the end of last month, describing it as a measure that would bring censorship and make the UK "a borderline dystopian state". The science and technology secretary, Peter Kyle, previously accused Farage of being on the side of child abusers such as Jimmy Savile, prompting a furious response from the Reform leader.
Labour's adverts include one published on Sunday morning with the message: "Nigel Farage wants to make it easier to share revenge porn online," alongside an image of Farage grinning. Another advert, reported by the Sunday Times, highlights Farage's comments about Andrew Tate, the influencer who faces charges in the UK including rape and human trafficking. The advert shows Farage with Tate under the headline: "Nigel Farage says Andrew Tate is an 'important voice' for men."
Laila Cunningham, a former magistrate who has joined Reform, wrote in a Telegraph article that the act was "censorship laws" and that existing laws already covered "revenge porn". She said: "It's a cover for censorship, and an excuse to hand unelected regulators sweeping powers to silence views they don't like, while doing nothing about the real crimes happening on our streets." She added that ministers should focus on detaining asylum seekers rather than placing them in hotels, arguing women "are being put in harm's way".
