He may have a history of making controversial comments, but Jeremy Clarkson has moved swiftly to deny weighing in on the social media ban for under-16s debate.

Yesterday (June 15), Sir Keir Starmer announced that youngsters will be banned from accessing social media as part of a drive to improve children's safety on the internet. It follows months of campaigning from parents and MPs, with the ban set to come in by spring 2027, according to the Prime Minister.

Taking to X around 24 hours earlier, Nina Wysocka claimed that former Top Gear presenter Clarkson had said the government's reported plan to impose a 9pm social media curfew on 16 and 17-year olds made no sense. She went on to attribute the following quote to the 66-year old: "You don’t trust them to be on social media after 9pm, yet you’re happy for them to vote. How does that work? Am I taking crazy pills?"

However, on Tuesday morning Clarkson responded to declare Wysocka's statement was untrue. "I never said any such thing," he exclaimed.

A community note has since been added to Wysocka's tweet after "readers added context they thought people might want to know". It prompted a number of the celebrity's 7.4 million followers to defend him.

"And this here shows the perfect example of misinformation," one X user replied. "A completely made up quote - 442,000 people engaged. Actual person quote is attributed too debunking it - 763 views!"

A second person fumed: "With the modern internet it doesn't matter you didn't say it it will be attributed to you regardless by those who want to use those words. It's stupid but it is our new reality."

Then a third admitted: "Getting so sick of fake content. Hard to know what is real anymore. It does sound like something you would say!"

While a fourth X user quipped: "Yeah, if Jeremy had said it you can get he'd have added 'you oafs' or 'you blithering idiots' to the end of the tweet."

Starmer said social media was "making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse" children which "could even be harming their mental health – exposing them to content that is dangerous, because that's what grabs the attention".

The ban is expected to cover platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal. "I’ve heard first hand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them," the PM added.

"That’s why we’re going further than any country in the world by banning social media for under-16s and putting wider protections in place to give kids their childhood back. This is a line in the sand. Tech giants had their chance and failed, but we’re stepping in to protect children, back parents and set a new normal for future generations."

In July 2025, it was revealed the voting age would be lowered from 18 to 16 in time for the next general election, under plans announced by Starmer and then Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.