Elon Musk clashes with Keir Starmer over claim of ‘civil war’

The prime minister said there was ‘no justification’ for the billionaire’s comments about Britain in light of unrest prompted by the murder of three girls in Southport.

Elon Musk directly criticised the British prime minister and suggested police were taking a ‘one-sided’ approach to the disturbances. Picture: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images

Sir Keir Starmer is locked in a war of words with Elon Musk after the billionaire claimed that Britain was facing a “civil war” over immigration, as far-right activists circulated plans to attack dozens of immigration centres on Wednesday.

The owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, replied to claims that mass migration was fuelling the riots by saying that “civil war is inevitable”.

Musk highlighted a post by the far-right leader Tommy Robinson claiming that “Muslims run through the streets unchallenged by police, attacking any non-Muslim”.

He responded with an exclamation mark to another post stating that the government was “prioritising mosques over British girls in their dance classes”.

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Picture: Mark Kerrison/Getty Images

Ministers have concerns about the failure of social media companies, including Twitter/X, to act against misinformation after the Southport attacks in which three girls attending a dance class were killed.

The defendant in the case, who has been charged with three murders, was born in Cardiff, a second-generation immigrant to Rwandan parents. Posts on Twitter/X wrongly claimed that the suspect was an “asylum seeker who came to the UK by boat last year” and was on an “MI6 watch list”.

The false claims were seized upon by figures including Andrew Tate, a right-wing influencer with nine million followers on Twitter/X, and are blamed for fuelling much of the violence.

Musk directly criticised Starmer for saying that the government would “not tolerate attacks on Muslim communities”. He said the prime minister should be concerned about attacks on “all communities” and suggested the police were taking a “one-sided” approach to the disturbances.

The billionaire’s claims led to a rebuke from Starmer as his spokesman said there was “no justification” for the comments. Starmer said claims of two-tier policing – the idea that white, far-right protesters are treated more harshly than other groups – were a “non-issue” after Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said it was “widespread” in British policing.

Other developments

• The police said they had made 378 arrests since disorder broke out last week, with further arrests and charges expected in the coming days.

• Australia, Nigeria, Malaysia and Indonesia issued travel alerts to their citizens visiting the UK, warning them to “exercise a high degree of caution” and stay away from protests.

• Downing Street insisted there was no need either to recall parliament or put the army on standby, insisting that the police, prosecutors and the prison service had the powers and resources they needed to deal with the situation.

The Home Office said it was taking urgent measures to ensure mosques were offered extra protection from the threat of attack.

Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, appeared to grab a reporter’s microphone when he was asked “Are we going to end two-tier policing?” after leaving a meeting at Downing Street.

Floral tributes are left outside the town hall in Southport, where three girls died in a knife attack during a Taylor Swift event last Monday. Picture: Peter Powell/AFP

Rowley described coverage of the incident as “a distraction from the critical events we are dealing with”, adding: “It was agreed the prime minister would provide an update afterwards and it was not my place to speak publicly. In an effort to move a microphone out of my path I’m sorry that I knocked it to the floor. That was never my intention.”

Downing Street issued a warning to social media companies that there was more “they can and should be doing” to counter “misleading and inflammatory material hosted on their platforms”.

It came after Starmer chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee following six days of disorder in which rioters stormed hotels housing asylum seekers. He was briefed on intelligence including social media posts suggesting that far-right organisers are preparing to target 39 immigration centres in a co-ordinated attack on Wednesday.

The Times has seen instructions to make petrol bombs shared in right-wing groups as well as an “arson manual” produced by a Russian-Ukrainian neo-Nazi group.

Starmer said a “standing army” of specialist police officers was being put in place to deal with any further rioting. Officials said these officers would be based in “strategic locations”.

Tensions flared on Monday night as riot police with dogs worked to keep protesters separate in Plymouth. Fireworks and large stones were hurled and at least three officers were injured. In Birmingham, armed men could be seen in a video posted online and a car was attacked, according to reports.

Tell Mama, which monitors anti-Muslim attacks, said it had called the police after it “identified more far-right threats on Telegram that seek to target immigration solicitors and refugee services” tomorrow (Wednesday).

The Times