Elton John brands Labour ‘absolute losers’ in furious BBC tirade over ‘criminal’ copyright plans

SIR Elton John today blasted Labour ministers as “absolute losers” and said he feels “betrayed” by plans to shake-up AI copyright rules.

The music legend hit out after the government rejected a push to give artists, writers and musicians more control over how their work is used by Silicon Valley giants to train algorithms.

PAElton John today blasted Labour ministers as “absolute losers”[/caption]

PAThe singer hit back accusing Technology Secretary Peter Kyle of being “a bit of a moron”[/caption]

Peers in the House of Lords backed changes to a proposed new law to make sure creators give permission before their content is fed into AI platforms – and can see what’s been used, when and by who.

But MPs ignored the call and voted it down by 297 to 168.

The government says the changes go too far and that it won’t make “piecemeal” decisions while still consulting on the issue.

But Sir Elton hit back accusing Technology Secretary Peter Kyle of being “a bit of a moron” and selling creatives down the river.

Speaking to the BBC, he raged: “It’s criminal, in that I feel incredibly betrayed.”

He said: “The House of Lords did a vote, and it was more than two to one in our favour, the Government just looked at it as if to say, ‘hmmm, well the old people… like me can afford it.’”

The superstar warned the plan could “rob young people of their legacy and their income, it’s a criminal offence, I think.”

He added: “The Government are just being absolute losers, and I’m very angry about it.”

Sir Elton also revealed he’s ready to drag ministers through the courts, saying: “We’ll fight it all the way.”

The row centres on fears that AI tools are scraping artists’ work without permission – and leaving them with nothing.

Hundreds of creatives have joined the Rocket Man in demanding stronger copyright protections.

But the Government insists the Data Bill is about “unlocking the secure and effective use of data” to boost the economy by £10 billion.

A spokesman for the Department for Science and Technology said: “The Data (Use and Access) Bill is focused on unlocking the secure and effective use of data for the public interest – boosting the economy by an estimated £10 billion over the course of the next 10 years to help deliver the growth which is fundamental to the government’s plan for change.

“We want our creative industries and AI companies to flourish, which is why we have been separately consulting on a package of measures that we hope will work for both sectors.

“We have always been clear that we will not rush into any decisions or bring forward any legislation until we are confident that we have a practical plan which delivers on each of our objectives.”

This comes after the threat of robots stealing musicians’ work has prompted more than 1,000 famous artists to join forces in protest with a “silent album”.

Fears are growing over the government’s plans to change UK copyright law for AI.

It would mean artificial intelligence companies could use any online material including music, art, articles and photography to train AI models.

The concern is a bot can then use algorithms to churn out its versions with no human creativity.

Stars including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, and Blur’s Damon Albarn have produced the protest album, titled Is This What We Want?

The 47 minutes of sparse background sounds are designed to show what life would be without musicians.

Organiser Ed Newton-Rex said: “The government’s proposal would hand the life’s work of the country’s musicians to AI companies, for free, letting those companies exploit musicians’ work to outcompete them.

“It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary: the UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus.”

Dr Jo Twist, head of industry group the BPI, said it would be legal for AI firms “to plunder the UK’s music, books, film and more, all for their own profit and without the need for authorisation or compensation”.

British music contributed £7.6 billion to the economy in 2023, but the industry warns that the changes to copyright laws would diminish this boost, risk jobs and undermine Britain’s “global soft-power advantage”.

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