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LBC callers share their response to Nigel Farage's phone-in. Speaking to Nick Ferrari on Thursday, the Reform UK leader claimed the Online Safety Act will do nothing to deter predators online because they can simply download VPNs “in minutes."
0:01 | Daniel in Golders Green felt it was 'very reassuring' to hear Nigel Farage 'talk tough on crime.'
1:35 | Neil in South Hams says 'the statistics are not that significant.'
4:33 | Femi (Matthew) in Birmingham thinks that 'Farage points to real problems, but his solutions will be far worse.'
7:01 | 'A load of rubbish' is the view of Alex in Southampton when asked about the safety act.
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0:00
He's been sort of blitzing the crime agenda over the last few weeks
0:02
What do you take from what you heard? Good morning. Good morning, Nick. Brilliant interview. Nick, I've got to say, as you know, I was a former frontline metro and police officer
0:12
Yes, sir. And as you know, and your listeners will know, over the last year
0:16
we've seen a massive rise in shock theft, organised crime, knife crime
0:22
moped-enabled mobile phone snatches, particularly in London. So it was very reassuring to hear Nigel Farage talk tough on crime
0:29
And I think that's what we need because we've also seen at the same time over over 2000 dangerous prisoners released from prison
0:38
He also said that we're probably letting people into the job we shouldn't
0:41
They're maybe not tall enough, fit enough. How did you respond to that, having done the job
0:46
Well, Nick, having done the job, as you say, I think there has been a lowering of recruitment standards
0:51
And I think certainly some of the officers that I've seen, certainly it would be questionable as to whether they can tackle violent and dangerous criminals
1:00
So I think we do need to look at the fitness levels. In fact, it is a fact that the bleep test, certainly in the Met, has been reduced, has been lowered
1:09
This is where you have to run between two different points in what's called the bleep test. Lastly, WPCs, as probably you knew them, two female officers patrolling, two females
1:16
How comfortable or not are you with that, Daniel? Well, as long as they're competent, fit, they passed all the tests
1:22
and they are good police officers, I've got absolutely no problem. But I think there is a question to be asked
1:27
You know, if you've got two small female officers and you've got a very large, violent, dangerous male
1:33
or maybe a group of people, how can they deal with it? Neil's in South Hams
1:37
Now, you work in this field, don't you, in a sense? Good morning, Neil. Yeah, good morning
1:42
I have skin in the game. I'm a website designer. I want to say from the word go, I don't agree with the vast majority of what Nigel Farage stands for
1:52
However, on this point, he might have a case. He's very misguided
1:57
You can't use a VPN to access the darknet. You use something called Tor
2:01
Tor is a browser which was developed by the U.S. Navy. OK so let just start talking about facts Forbes magazine did a survey of the UK population 79 know how to use a VPN
2:20
51 million people. So don't use this, it's about protecting the children
2:25
It's nonsense. This is about privacy and control and information and data
2:31
I'm very sorry about the previous caller whose daughter died son died okay
2:38
but 43 children as tragic as that is in three years mildly over
2:46
what's that 12 15 a year not even 15 a year look at the statistics
2:52
of how people die on an annual basis 15 a year as tragic as that is
2:58
is not a significant statistic Neil, it's more than one a month with something where there could, the government says
3:06
there could be regulations put in place that would stop these people being subjected to that
3:10
And I could fly to the moon, Nick. It doesn't mean to say it's going to happen. But I don't understand why your opposition to something that is tidying up
3:19
I don't understand your opposition. Because it's flawed in so many ways
3:24
Even as Peter Kyle said, it's a start. Neil, he himself accepts it is a start
3:31
What's that expression? No, it's not a start. Don't let the enemy be the perfect of the good or whatever that expression was
3:35
Yeah, it's not a start. Peter Kyle said on the 25th of February on Radio 4
3:42
that he would, and I quote, put obstacles in your way if you are viewing things on the internet
3:48
he doesn't agree with. Now, I'm really sorry, but... Well, that was clumsy language
3:54
He is not the arbiter of... No, no, that's clumsy language. But stopping, I hate to say it, suicide sites has to be the right thing
4:02
Yes, absolutely. There are things on the internet, Nick, and you have to accept this
4:07
Bad people will do bad things. You have to accept that. Not just on the internet
4:12
Yes, absolutely. So what do we do? Do we ban cars because they kill more they kill you know over 1 people a month No but we ensure that children wear safety belts and if they have a child seat in the back it properly strapped into anchor points More children will die on the roads this year
4:27
than from looking at stuff on the internet. Well, it doesn't mean we don't try and address them
4:33
The law as it's currently being put through, is it fit for purpose? Good morning. Yeah, I agree that there are serious problems with it
4:40
I believe that the VPNs make an absolute mockery of the law. I believe that if the government is serious about age verification
4:45
and there should be a centralized database that won't be hacked because it's in the hands of private companies
4:50
I think that there are serious problems with it, especially given that Wikipedia is now in a legal battle
4:55
where it's at risk of shutting down because of the restrictions that are being placed on it
4:59
The problem is that Nigel Farage, his skill is that he will correctly identify real problems that people face
5:06
He does that with the, for example, with the NHS. He'll say the NHS has problems, but what's his solution
5:11
Well, I think we're going to have to move to an insurance-based system of health care. He points to problems with the EU, and his solution to that was no-deal Brexit
5:19
which even his own party says would be even worse for the cost-of-living crisis than what we have now
5:25
He points to poverty across the UK. Again, he made worse via Brexit
5:29
He points to crime rising in the UK. Again, made worse by the cost-of-living crisis
5:33
which was made worse by his Brexit. Every time he points to a real problem
5:37
So I agree with him that this is a flawed bill. But the problem is his solutions will be far worse
5:43
because he says he's doing this in the name of free speech. But the Reform Party is not a party that cares about free speech
5:50
They're a party that has called for the banning of flags, whether that's being Richard Tyus, the deputy leader
5:55
saying that there should be a ban on EU flags last night at the proms
6:00
whether it's with Bob Villain when he said that if you vote reform
6:04
then you can get your country back from these lunatics. That's censorship. This is a party that hires lawyers to attack anybody
6:11
Okay, okay. So do you think there's a degree of naivety then? Is that what you're saying as regards Mr Farage
6:17
I, it's not naivety. I believe it's dishonesty. I believe it's malevolence
6:22
I believe it. Where is the dishonesty as regards what he by the way I don agree with him but what he saying about the online safety bill I think think it not dishonesty he genuinely believes it an assault on freedom versus freedom of speech so uh this is this is what happens with people like nigel farage they will like like andrew tate he point to crises
6:41
in in men's mental health but his solution is to tell men that that women the main people they're
6:46
attracted to are are horrendous people so he ends up leaving them more lonely than before
6:49
staying with nigel farage he is correct when he says that the vpn the fact that that's now the
6:54
top search app on the app store and prove that this app isn't going to achieve the goal that it
7:00
set out to do. Alex in Southampton, Alex your take on online safety, good morning. Hi there
7:05
morning Nick, yeah no I think the the online safety bill is a load of rubbish I think it's
7:10
it comes back to a basic fact of what you said it needs to be device based the only way to do
7:18
device based is the IMEI number which is the actual address of your device itself so why not
7:24
all the phone companies and it only sorts out the mobile side of it home broadband that's down to
7:29
the parents you can block your own stuff from that side yeah but if all the mobile companies
7:34
have a central database when you get a phone for a 13 plus year old you log their IMEI number and
7:39
all of a sudden you've got all of that 18 plus content out of their out of their site do you
7:44
think some of this some of this obviously the tech companies put it up and the youngsters go after it
7:51
but a lot if there was greater parental responsibility, Alex. I think I didn't want to put, yeah
7:56
I didn't want to bring parents into it straight away, but like I say, I mean, that sorts out the
8:00
I mean, that is parental responsibility to register an IMEI number of a device
8:05
at the age of 13 or when you get them their first phone. I think then the parental responsibility at home
8:11
comes in where you've got the parental controls from those tech companies to do it yourself
8:16
I mean, they've always been there, but nobody ever uses them because you get your broadband installed
8:20
and you don't go into the settings, you know. It's just something that's done
8:24
And coming from an online, I mean, I've done quite a lot of stuff online and seen people's profiles unlocked, showing pictures of children, etc., etc
8:32
You know, it's all there, but it is down to the parents. It is down to the tech companies
8:36
It is down to everybody as a collective to do it. But all this stuff makes money in sales
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