 "After Germany, why is UK upset with Elon Musk?")
After upsetting the German government by endorsing the far-right Alternative to Germany (AfD) party, American tech billionaire Elon Musk is now angering British parliamentarians. A key ally of the US President-elect Donald Trump, the X owner has targeted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government.
Musk has also called for the release of the UK’s far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, who is in jail for contempt of court. “Free Tommy Robinson!”, he wrote on X Thursday (January 2).
Let’s take a closer look.
Musk targets UK govt
Elon Musk has hit out at UK PM Keir Starmer, highlighting the emergence of a child abuse scandal when the Labour leader was the chief state prosecutor in England and Wales.
He slammed the Labour government led by Starmer over its response to “rape gangs” in Rochdale and Oldham.
“In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service’s approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013,” Musk wrote in one of the posts.
He also criticised Jess Phillips, UK safeguarding minister since July, after she reportedly rejected calls for a public inquiry into historic child abuse in Oldham, northwest England.
Musk said Phillips “deserved to be in prison” for saying that Oldham council should call an inquiry rather than the national government.
The tech billionaire wrote in another post, “The real reason she’s refusing to investigate the rape gangs is that it would obviously lead to the blaming of Keir Stamer (head of the [Crown Prosecution Service] at the time).”
In 2012, Starmer, who was the head of the CPS, had admitted the justice system was flawed in handling sexual exploitation cases. He appointed Nazir Afzal, who prosecuted the perpetrators of sexual abuse in Rochdale.
Starmer had also introduced extensive reforms to the Crown Prosecution Service in its responses to sexual exploitation cases.
The Tesla co-founder also endorsed holding fresh elections in the UK. Starmer-led Labours came to power last July, ending the 14-year rule of the Conservative Party.
Musk’s “free Tommy Robinson” tweet also stirred the political pot in the UK.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is one of the most controversial far-right activists in the UK notorious for boosting racist and Islamophobic views.
He is the founder of the English Defense League which regularly organised anti-immigration rallies. As per Euronews, the British police suspected that the now-defunct group was behind violent anti-Muslim riots in response to the killing of three young children at a dance class in Southport last year.
Is UK’s right cosying up to Musk?
Hours after Musk posted about the UK’s child grooming gangs, Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, called for a national inquiry into the UK’s “rape gangs scandal”, saying that “2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice”.
There are concerns about Musk’s plans to donate as much as $100m to the opposition fringe party Reform UK. The party’s leader, Nigel Farage, met Musk last month at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The tech billionaire’s interest in UK politics has raised fears of him influencing future elections.
Musk’s recent posts are seen as explicit support of the UK far-right, coming on the heels of his public endorsement of Germany’s far-right AfD party. The German government has accused him of trying to influence upcoming elections.
Labour MPs slam Elon Musk
Musk has been targeting the Labour government since last summer’s anti-immigration riots in parts of the country.
His recent comments have upset the Labour parliamentarians, but Downing Street has so far steered away from countering Musk.
“Musk’s support not just for Tommy Robinson, but also the AfD in Germany, shows just how big a problem he is for democracy as well as the reputation of those who cosy up to him like Nigel Farage and Liz Truss,” Labour MP Stella Creasy told Politico.
Truss, former UK PM, previously said that Musk’s Department for Government Efficiency or DOGE, which will feature in Trump’s incoming administration, was “needed in Britain.”
Speaking to Politico, a second Labour MP described Musk’s language as “dangerous,” warning that “at a time when communities need to come and work together, we have someone with a lot of influence sowing divisions and spreading hate.”
In August, Downing Street had responded to Musk’s posts proclaiming “civil war was inevitable” in Britain as “unacceptable”.
A few days back, Downing Street had to defend the Starmer government as “unashamedly pro-growth” after Musk criticised the UK PM’s policies.
After his recent remarks, one MP told The Guardian newspaper, “(Musk) has pushed it too far this time. Twitter [now X] is really rapidly becoming a cesspit, even for disinterested non-partisan types.”
Many ministers called for the government to leave Musk’s X, but others warned of triggering a diplomatic incident given the tech billionaire’s role in Trump’s second presidency, reported the newspaper.
Downing Street has refrained from commenting.
With inputs from agencies
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