We Need to Talk About Starmer's Science Secretary (Again)
It would seem Labour MP Peter Kyle needs to purchase a mirror and perhaps read the Parliamentary Code of Conduct again...
Earlier today, Peter Kyle—the minister responsible for UK technology policy—did the media rounds promoting the government’s new age verification rules under the Online Safety Act.
These are the provisions now “age-gating” the internet, requiring users to hand over personal information to access what the state deems “sensitive content”.
Kyle repeated the usual government lines about safety and protection—until Nigel Farage’s name came up.
Then, astonishing even the Sky News presenter, Kyle claimed that Farage’s opposition to the Act meant he was effectively “on the side” of notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile.
It constituted one hell of a statement, likely intended to quash criticism rather than meaningfully engage with it.
You see, the Act has come under the fire in recent days as Ofcom, Britain’s broadcasting and internet regulator, imposed the new age verification restrictions on all sorts of political content.
Far from just censoring pornography and child abuse—as promised—the Act is forcing X to suppress footage of protests, parliamentary speeches on child sex abuse, and even pictures of transcripts from grooming gang court cases.
Put differently, the Act has led to the censorship of both child sex abuse crimes and reports about them—undermining any claim that it’s just about “protection”.
Now, Kyle’s outburst, which he has since doubled-down on—is even more curious in light of his past associations.
He has campaigned with and been photographed multiple times alongside Ivor Caplin—Tony Blair’s former Defence Minister—who was arrested in January by Sussex Police on suspicion of child sex offences.
Caplin denies wrongdoing. Police say the investigation remains “ongoing and active”. Last we heard, Caplin had his police bail extended in April.
These images obviously do not prove Kyle knew of Caplin’s alleged gross activity but it certainly casts a light on who he spends time with. Given that, one would think he’d hold off on such baseless accusations against Farage.
Then there’s Kyle’s financial record, suggesting he might one of the most conflicted figures in Westminster—and that’s saying something.
In February, his department handed a £2.3 million contract to Faculty AI—the same company that had donated £36,000 to him in May 2024.
That contract involved “analysing social media narratives”—work tied to the government’s Counter Disinformation Unit, the same covert outfit that targeted dissenters during Covid.
Another firm, Public Digital, gave Kyle £66,000 that same year. It seconded a tech expert, Emily Middleton, to his office—who was later appointed Director-General of his department, on a taxpayer-funded salary exceeding £128,000.
It might come as no surprise that Public Digital subsequently received a government contract worth £5,000,000 earlier this month.
So the minister responsible for tech takes tens of thousands from one tech firm, then signs off on a multi-million-pound contract for them. Then he accepts even more from another company—Public Digital—and gives a senior government job, with a six-figure salary, to someone from that same firm, and then that firm receives an even bigger contract.
In February 2023, Kyle accepted a £14,000 trip to Silicon Valley, funded in part by Hakluyt—a lobbying and investment firm with major stakes in the tech sector.
He also received £6,000 from Anthony Watson, a former Nike executive and founder of the Bank of London—a troubled institution that faced being struck off over debts to HMRC.
The Bank of London counted Peter Mandelson as a director—the same Peter Mandelson who, according to a book of messages compiled for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, referred to Epstein as “my best pal”.
A 2019 internal report by JP Morgan also linked Mandelson to Epstein after his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution.
Of course, we can’t forget Kyle’s alignment with global technocrats.
In June, his department announced a new partnership with the World Economic Forum for “AI-driven innovation”, proudly revealing that a WEF Global Centre would soon be based in Britain.
He has also held meetings with Tony Blair—the former Prime Minister who now champions digital ID cards for all UK citizens and decries “misinformation” at seemingly almost every opportunity.
Digital ID, of course, would hand the state unprecedented control over online identity and access—perfect for a government intent on prosecuting people for political speech, particularly around immigration.
No wonder he threatened to shut down X last week.
If successful, he would shield himself from the backlash his own authoritarian instincts and dubious financial ties have provoked.
Another one who we can’t get out quick enough…
Do you believe our best days lie ahead?
Will you keep watching as our politicians and broadcasters push for yet more surveillance, censorship, and control?
If you want to push back—if not today, maybe someday—supporting independent journalism can (genuinely) make a real impact.
In the past year, The Stark Naked Brief reached over 120 million people on X. Sometimes, all it takes is one post—one uncomfortable truth—to wake someone up and put a dent the uniparty’s monopoly.
We always knew it was never about protecting kids. It’s always been about policing opinions and protecting the bosses.
My only shock is that it only took them three days to start calling anyone who disagreed with them a pedophile lover. I thought that even these free speech repelling authoritarians would wait a week!
Jimmy Savile never used the internet for accessing kids. He had a constant feed from the BBC and the NHS.