Reform UK leader warns ‘never ever trust this authoritarian Government’
Nigel Farage accused Andy Burnham of trying to ‘clamp down on free speech’ (Image: X)
Nigel Farage accused Andy Burnham of a bid to “clamp down on free speech” over plans for a national centre for information defence. The Reform UK leader compared the new unit to the “Ministry of Truth” in George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which was a government department that controlled information, rewrote history and spread state propaganda.
The Prime Minister has ordered security chiefs to start working on the centre to tackle online lies and deepfakes by hostile states like Russia. But in a post on X, Reform leader Mr Farage said: “Andy Burnham is setting up a Ministry of Truth to clamp down on free speech.”
In a video, the Brexiteer added: “So, Andy Burnham’s latest ruse is to launch a National Centre for Information Defence to stop disinformation.
“Now, of course, they’re using the excuse that Russia wants to interfere with elections.
“Be in no doubt, there are bots online, they come from Russia, they come from India, and elsewhere, that do try to influence our thinking, and that’s not a good piece of news.
“But, you know what will happen with this Government. Already, he’s said it’s to stop far-right tropes, etc. This will be like George Orwell’s Ministry of Information, and this will be used to clamp down on free speech.
“The one lesson I’m learning, as time goes on, whether it’s funding of parties, whether it’s cancelling elections, is never ever trust this authoritarian Government.”
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting insisted the new unit will not be used for “policing domestic political dissent”,
The Cabinet minister told GB News: “One of the great things about Britain, and one of the things that I have a responsibility to defend, is the freedom and democracy that we all enjoy.
“And that includes the freedom to disagree, the freedom for people to challenge their government, to challenge government policy, to criticise robustly what we are doing and then to have the opportunity to choose a different government.”
Andy Burnham savaged as one in five UK working age adults now on benefits
Critics warn it is “unfair to taxpayers footing the bill” and Britain “can’t afford” it.
Andy Burnham is under pressure to get a grip on the benefits bill. (Image: Getty)
One in five working-age Brits is on universal credit, according to new research. Some 7.3 million people aged between 20 and 64 in England and Wales were receiving the benefit as of May 2026, the analysis by the Taxpayers’ Alliance found.
That includes 3.3 million under 40, with 1.3 million in their 20s. The research showed that 54 council areas have a quarter of the working-age population on benefits, which are for people who are jobless or on a low income to help with living costs.
William Yarwood, campaigns director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “In some places, dependency on universal credit has become endemic.
“Generations are being dumped on benefits: written off and condemned to a life of dependency as ministers make it harder for them to find a job.
“If Andy Burnham was serious about growth in every postcode, he would be making it more affordable to hire young people.”
Councils with the highest proportion of older people on universal credit are concentrated in London, including more than half of those in their 50s and 60s in Tower Hamlets.
Coastal towns such as Thanet, Great Yarmouth and Hartlepool tend to have more younger people on benefits.
Blackpool was the local authority with the largest share of the working-age population claiming universal credit at 35.2%.
Tory shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately warned it is “unfair to taxpayers footing the bill” and that Britain “can’t afford” it.
She added: “I’ve been to benefit hotspots like Blackpool, where welfare has become a way of life. This has to stop. A generation of talent is also being wasted when young people sign up for welfare instead of starting work.
“It’s clear Andy Burnham — like his predecessor — does not have the backbone to reform welfare. He said himself he puts social security before national security.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “Three-quarters of the increase in Universal Credit cases since July 2024 is driven by people moving from legacy benefits – a transition started by the previous Government.
“Many people receiving Universal Credit are already in employment, and our reforms will go further to tackle the perverse incentives that discourage work, and we’re investing £3.5 billion in employment support for disabled people and people with long-term conditions.
“We’re putting work and opportunity at the heart of the system, and the final recommendations from the Timms and Milburn Reviews will lay the foundation for sustainable reform.”