Defending freedom of speech includes protecting Angela Rayner’s right to call Tories “scum”, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said.

At the Labour conference in 2021, the now Deputy Prime Minister described the Conservatives as “a bunch of scum, homophobic, racist, misogynistic”, before later apologising.

The Conservative former minister argued that “freedom of speech is under attack, to the peril of our constitution”, and listed the Leveson report as one of the examples of this.

We should defend the right of Angela Rayner to call a scum, shouldn't we? That's what she wants to do, it's no skin off my nose

Sir Jacob, who lost his seat at the general election in July, also hit out at the Online Safety Bill, claiming it had given Ofcom the ability to curtail freedom of speech.

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, he said: “We should defend the right of Angela Rayner to call us scum, shouldn’t we? That’s what she wants to do, it’s no skin off my nose.

“Also she may be a very helpful secret weapon for us, I think people who do all these property transactions are quite Tory anyway, it’s much more Tory than a socialist activity.”

During the debate on protecting free speech, Sir Jacob added: “How do you have democracy without freedom of speech? How do you run an election if we can’t print leaflets saying that the other side are a bunch of rotters, or words to that effect?

“How can you print leaflets saying that the Lib Dems are good, honest people if you don’t have freedom of speech? Even with freedom of speech, that’s pushing it. But nonetheless, your democracy cannot take place without freedom of speech.

“You cannot have an effective election, because all you get is the message approved by the Government and churned out by the BBC.”

He said the multiple sexual assault allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed, the former Harrods and Fulham FC owner, who died last year aged 94, would have come out sooner if it were not for the “increasing privacy laws”.

Sir Jacob told conference: “Freedom of speech is under attack, to the peril of our constitution. Who has read recently about Mr Fayed, the former late owner of Harrods?

“Why did you not read a word about it whilst he was still alive, in this context? Because we have libel laws and increasing privacy laws that make it harder to reveal things.

“And yes, the Online Safety Bill has made it possible for Ofcom to have regulations that will curtail our freedom of speech.”

He added: “And what about that great spider at the centre of the funding of the Labour Party by Lord Alli?

“What is the one thing he’s spoken about in the House of Lords? Curtailing freedom of speech and controlling the press.

“What did that dreadful Leveson report try to do?

We've bought in to the language of equality. Now I hope our distinguished chairman is a chairman, not a chair - the chair was what I was sitting on

“I was one of 13 MPs who voted against it, 530 in favour.

“When the House of Commons is united, it is almost invariably wrong… oh, just look back over the history.”

Elsewhere, Sir Jacob warned Tory members in the audience not to “give in to the lefty loop use of language”.

He said “We’ve bought in to the language of equality. Now I hope our distinguished chairman is a chairman, not a chair – the chair was what I was sitting on.”

“Don’t give in to the lefty loop use of language, it is absolutely fundamental,” Sir Jacob added.

During his speech, he also referred to an appearance he made at Cardiff University where pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside.

Sir Jacob said: “I also spoke at Cardiff and had a huge array of Palestinian people protesting against me. They were entitled to do so.

“They weren’t threatening violence, but they were entitled to be there and say they didn’t agree with me.”