London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Far right celebrates after Johnson repeats ‘Savile slur’ in parliament

Far right celebrates after Johnson repeats ‘Savile slur’ in parliament

The prime minister was widely criticised for repeating the slur that is widespread online – but extremists were delighted

A network of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and antisemites has celebrated Boris Johnson’s false claim that Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.

Johnson was roundly criticised, including by some Tory MPs, after he made the accusation during an ill-tempered exchange in the Commons last Monday.

His accusation led to renewed calls for him to resign, prompted chancellor Rishi Sunak to publicly rebuke the prime minister and saw one of his closest aides, Munira Mirza, quit over her boss’s “scurrilous accusation” and subsequent failure to apologise.

An Observer investigation can now reveal how Johnson’s comments have since been seized upon by notorious far-right groups including the Pie and Mash Squad, a network of football hooligans linked to the anti-Muslim English Defence League and violent Casuals United, as well as a white nationalist organisation called the Traditional Britain Group.

Munira Mirza, one of the PM’s closest aides, quit over Johnson’s Savile slur.


Other rightwing British figures to appreciate Johnson’s intervention include neo-Nazi Mark Collett, who leads the white supremacist Patriotic Alternative group, as well as Nick Griffin, former leader of the fascist British National Party.

The Savile accusation has long been touted among far-right groups, including the anti-immigrant neo-fascist Proud Boys, labelled a terrorist entity by Canada following its “pivotal role” in the US Capitol attack last year.

Other infamous far-right figures to have endorsed the allegation that Starmer failed to prosecute Savile when he was director of public prosecutions include EDL founder Tommy Robinson.

A statement from Tech Against Terrorism, an initiative launched by the UN counter-terrorism executive directorate, said the prime minister’s willingness to repeat discredited far-right tropes was disquieting. “We are gravely concerned by this recent example of extremist ideology manifesting in mainstream British politics,” it read.

Meanwhile the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an international group that seeks to disrupt online hate, said the episode was a striking instance of how social media amplified information that was probably untrue.

Imran Ahmed, chief executive of CCDH, said: “It’s a very good example of disinformation that has benefitted from the specific amplifying dynamic of social media.”

Johnson’s repeating of the Savile slur was celebrated instantly by the extreme right, with CCDH recording that posts on rightwing channels on the messaging app Telegram had attracted 42,521 views in the two days after Johnson made the remark.

The prime minister’s comments also induced threats of violence with one account, whose avatar is a confederate flag, posting “hang the lot of them” in reference to Labour politicians on alt-tech platform Brand New Tube, while an anonymous poster on the 4Chan bulletin board suggested Starmer “should kill himself”.

Trump supporters storm the Capitol in January last year. Neo-fascist group Proud Boys, who are believed to have played a pivotal role, have long touted the false Savile accusation.


On Telegram, the Traditional Britain Group account, whose members have previously called for black people to return to their “natural homelands”, bemoaned the “synthetic outrage” around Johnson’s Savile comments.

Neo-Nazi Mark Collett, who once suggested Hitler’s Mein Kampf as one of three books people should read and has attended combat training with former members of the proscribed terrorist organisation National Action, posted about the “establishment” and “paedophilia”, a longstanding far-right obsession.

Another notorious figure to seize on Johnson’s comments was Mark Steele, a British conspiracy theorist with more than 20,000 Telegram channel subscribers, who posted: “Johnson ousts Keir the knight of the realm who blocked the police investigation against the knight Savile for his disgusting sex offences”.

Claims that Starmer failed to prosecute Savile have been shared on far-right Telegram channels as well as Facebook for years. In January 2021 it was also propagated by Official Proud Boys Britannia, who described Starmer as a “paedophile/serial killer protector”.

The group is affiliated to the US white nationalist misogynistic group and its Canadian wing that was last year named by Ottawa as a terrorist entity.

Before the prime minister’s Savile comments, CCDH said it had monitored a spike in the claim last month.

One reason is believed to be the US anti-vaccine conspiracist Sherri Tenpenny, who has 159,000 Telegram subscribers and reposted a message in January claiming that Starmer “decided there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to charge Saville”. That message had been viewed more than 220,000 times by the time Johnson repeated the slur.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×