The UK has to be “careful” and protect free speech as debate becomes “more and more toxic” on both sides of the Atlantic, a British satirist has said.

Tom Walker, better known as the ranting fictitious newsreader Jonathan Pie, has issued the warning after US talk show Jimmy Kimmel was taken off air for comments he made following the death of Charlie Kirk.

Speaking to Niall Paterson on the Sky News Daily podcast, Walker said he believes he wouldn’t be able work as a satirist in America today as the Trump administration appears to be cracking down on those who speak out against him.

He added: “I genuinely don’t think I would be allowed into the country. That might sound dramatic, but they go through your social media posts. I think Trump thinks that not agreeing with him is anti-American, whereas it’s not, it’s anti-Trump, it’s anti-Republican. So a lot of my posts would be seen as anti-American.”

Walker went viral in 2016 after posting a clip of Jonathan Pie passionately blaming “the left” for Mr Trump’s victory in the US election the same year.

The comedian argued that left-leaning people had “lost the art” of engaging with anyone with a different opinion to them and urged them to “stop thinking everyone who disagrees with you is evil, racist or sexist or stupid”.

Asked by Niall if he believes Kimmel, who has a long history of speaking out against Mr Trump, is partly responsible for the rise of the populist president, Walker said: “No, I don’t… Most of these late-night hosts are left-leaning and Trump is an own goal for satire.

“I don’t think there was much that Jimmy Kimmel said in his monologue the other day that was anywhere near as divisive as the rhetoric coming from Donald Trump or (vice president) JD Vance, so there is an inherent hypocrisy there.”

However, Walker believes “right-wingers” are not the only reason free speech is under a “huge amount of threat in America”.

The satirist, who counts himself as being left-wing, continued: “I think the left have enabled a culture where people don’t feel that they’re able to express their views.

“The left-wing were the flag-bearers of cancel culture. And now it’s sort of coming back to bite us in a terrifying way.”

Kimmel was taken off air months after US talk show host Stephen Colbert had his show cancelled – something his fans have attributed to his criticism of Mr Trump.

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Meanwhile, the US president appeared to encourage NBC to cancel the talk shows of Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers in a Truth Social post on Thursday. Both presenters are known to have made jokes about Mr Trump in the past.

Asked whether the UK should be worried about free speech apparently being targeted in the UK in a similar way, Walker said: “I think that there are issues of free speech in this country. I don’t think it is quite as bad as what’s happening in America, but we have to be careful. The debate on both sides of the Atlantic is becoming more and more toxic, I think. And it’s divide and conquer. ‘You’re either with me or you’re against me’. And I think both sides have to take some responsibility for that.”

Walker pointed out that when he posted a satirical video on X called “The Death Of Discourse” in relation to the Kirk assassination, he was attacked by social media users on both the left and right of politics.

He added: “I think that’s the problem… We have forgotten how to talk and listen to people that we fundamentally disagree with.”

Former British athlete Lynsey Sharp has told Sky News she would have won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 had today’s gender testing rules been in place then.

Sharp came sixth in the women’s 800m final behind three now-barred athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD).

She told sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao the sport has changed considerably from when she was competing.

“Sometimes I look back and think I could have had an Olympic medal, but I gave it my all that day and that was the rules at the time,” she said.

“Obviously, I wish I was competing nowadays, but that was my time in the sport and that’s how it was.”

The Rio women’s 800m final saw South Africa’s Caster Semenya take gold, with Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui winning silver and bronze respectively. All three would have been unable to compete today.

Semenya won a total of two Olympic gold medals before World Athletics introduced rules limiting her participation in the female class.

In a major policy overhaul introduced this year, World Athletics now requires athletes competing in the female category at the elite level of the sport to take a gene test.

The tests identify the SRY gene, which is on the Y chromosome and triggers the development of male characteristics.

The tests replace previous rules whereby athletes with DSD were able to compete as long as they artificially reduced their testosterone levels.

Sharp says while she was competing, governing bodies “didn’t really deal with the issue head on”, and she was often portrayed as a “sore loser” over the issue.

Despite running a Scottish record in that race, her personal best, she described the experience as a “really difficult time”.

“Sadly, it did kind of taint my experience in the sport and at the Olympics in Rio,” she said.

Sharp added that despite the changes, it remains a “very contentious topic, not just in sport, but in society”.

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Boxing has now also adopted a compulsory sex test to establish the presence of a Y chromosome at this month’s world championships.

The controversial Olympic champion Imane Khelif, who won Olympic welterweight gold in Paris 2024 in the female category, did not take it and couldn’t compete.

She has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against having to take the test.

Sharp’s comments come as British athletics star and Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson is tipped to win her first world title in Sunday’s women’s 800m final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

She is returning from a year out after suffering two torn hamstrings.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has protested to the home secretary after prosecutors dropped charges against two men accused of spying for China and targeting MPs.

Sir Lindsay told Sky News the decision “leaves the door open” to foreigners spying on the House of Commons, and he has written a “strong and punchy” letter to Shabana Mahmood.

The Speaker says “all avenues” must be pursued to ensure the protection of MPs and Commons staff, and he is understood to be weighing up whether to carry out a private prosecution.

The men – Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher and director of the China Research Group, and Christopher Berry – were charged last April under the Official Secrets Act.

The charges related to “espionage within parliament”, security minister Dan Jarvis told MPs on Monday, in a statement after the case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service at the Old Bailey.

The pair were accused of targeting the China Research Group of MPs, whose leading members are former Tory security minister Tom Tugendhat, shadow home office minister and former foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns, and shadow minister Neil O’Brien.

Announcing the CPS decision, a spokesperson said: “In accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the evidence in this case has been kept under continuous review and it has now been determined that the evidential standard for the offence indicted is no longer met. No further evidence will be offered.”

Mr Cash and Mr Berry, who had both previously taught in China, said after the case against them was dropped that charges should never have been brought.

Speaking outside court, Mr Cash – previously a researcher for Ms Kearns – said: “While I am relieved that justice has been served today, the last two and a half years have been a nightmare for me and my family.”

He said he hoped “lessons are learned from this sorry episode”, while his lawyer said his client was “entirely innocent and should never have been arrested, let alone charged”.

Revealing that he has now written to the home secretary, Sir Lindsay told Sky News: “As Speaker, I take the security of this House incredibly seriously. I believe this leaves the door open to foreign actors trying to spy on the House.

“This door must be closed hard. We must pursue all avenues to ensure the protection of Members and people that work within the House of Commons. It will not be tolerated.”

Ahead of Mr Jarvis’s Commons statement on Monday, Sir Lindsay told MPs: “I found out only this morning that the charges against the two individuals relating to espionage for the Chinese authorities were to be dropped. I do not think that is good.

“I ask officials to consider whether any further steps should be taken-operational, strategic, or legal-to ensure that all those who work in this parliament are able to undertake their activities securely and without interference.”

And he concluded: “I am a very unhappy Speaker with what has happened. The fact that it has taken two years, until today, for somebody to withdraw this case is not good enough.”

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Mr Jarvis told MPs: “The government remain gravely concerned about the threat of Chinese espionage. Parliament and our democracy are sacrosanct, and any attempt by any foreign power to infiltrate or interfere with parliamentary proceedings is completely unacceptable.”

He added: “This was an independent decision made by the CPS, and it is not for any government minister to speculate on the reasons behind it.

“The government are extremely disappointed with the outcome in this case, and we remain extremely concerned about the espionage threat posed to the United Kingdom.”

Responding to Mr Jarvis’s statement, Ms Kearns told MPs: “From a securities perspective, today’s events are disastrous. They will embolden our enemies and make us look unwilling to defend our own nation, even when attacked in this place, the mother of all parliaments.”