Ex England boss spoke out it was revealed crossbow killer Kyle Clifford murdered the family of BBC racing commentator fuelled on ‘violent misogyny promoted’ by Andrew Tate
Sir Gareth Southgate said young men who ditch the ‘real world’ for the internet can fall prey to ‘manipulative and toxic influencers’ who trick them into thinking women are ‘against them’.
The ex-England manager warned men starved of proper ‘mentorship’ end up ‘searching for direction’ and are vulnerable to a new breed of social media role models who ‘do not have their best interest at heart’.
He spoke out days after it was revealed crossbow and knife killer Kyle Clifford murdered the family of BBC racing commentator John Hunt fuelled on ‘violent misogyny promoted’ by controversial influencer Andrew Tate.
A court heard Clifford ‘turned to’ Tate before snuffing out the lives of John’s wife Carol and daughters Hannah and Louise – who was the killer’s ex-girlfriend.
Southgate, 54, who quit last year (2024) after eight years as England manager, told the 46th Richard Dimbleby Lecture at the University of London some influencers ‘willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance’.
“As real-world communities and mentorship declines young men end up withdrawing, reluctant to talk or express their emotions,’’ he said. They spend more time online searching for direction and are falling into unhealthy alternatives like gaming, gambling and pornography.
“And this void is filled by a new kind of role model who do not have their best interest at heart. These are callous, manipulative and toxic influencers whose sole drive is for their own gain.
“They willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance, never showing emotion, and that the world – including women – is against them. They are as far away as you could possibly get from the role models our young men need in their lives.’’
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was ‘committed to cracking down on people pushing harmful and hateful beliefs including extreme misogyny’. In Romania Tate, 38, and his brother Tristan, 36, face race and human trafficking allegations.
In the UK Bedfordshire Police secured a European arrest warrant for separate similar allegations. In the US they face a civil lawsuit from a women who alleges they coerced her into sex work then defamed her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities.
The pair deny all the allegations.
Earlier this month Florida attorney general James Uthmeier (corr) said on social media he had ordered a criminal inquiry into the Tate brothers after the pair flew to the US state from Romania when their travel ban was lifted.
In the past Tate has not hidden his sexist views. In an interview with another YouTuber, he said he was “absolutely a misogynist”, and added: “I’m a realist and when you’re a realist, you’re sexist. There’s no way you can be rooted in reality and not be sexist.” In that same video, he described women as “intrinsically lazy” and said there was “no such thing as an independent female”.
Tate has been singled out for the effect he has had in spreading misogyny online among boys and young men by authorities in the UK.
Speaking at the launch of a report into violence against women and girls in July 2024, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said: “We know that some of this is also linked to radicalisation of young people online, we know the influencers, Andrew Tate, the element of influencing of particularly boys, is quite terrifying.”
The report stated that police were now working with counter-terrorism teams to combat the risks of young men being radicalised.
Numerous social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, have banned him – with the latter saying that “misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated”.
Tate was banned from Twitter for saying women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. He has since been reinstated on the platform, now known as X.