EXPLAINED
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has criticised the UK Prime Minister repeatedly on his X social media platform
Downing Street issued a strong rebuke against Elon Musk on Monday after the tech billionaire weighed in on the recent riots that have swept the UK.
The newly acrimonious relationship between Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Musk is a far cry from the warmth seen between the X owner and former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who appeared on stage together for an interview at an AI summit last year.
Mr Sunak attracted controversy when he invited Mr Musk to the AI Safety Summit last NovemberMr Sunak attracted controversy when he invited Mr Musk to the AI Safety Summit last November, where the pair sat down for a 50-minute chat about the future of AI.
But the then-prime minister had attracted Mr Musk’s attention long before that. In July 2023, Mr Sunak posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying it was “wrong” that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had had his bank account at Coutts shut down over his political views. Mr Musk responded to the post with the message: “Hear, hear!”.
During their discussion in November, Mr Sunak heaped praise on Mr Musk, calling him a “brilliant innovator and technologist”. In a post on X after the summit, Mr Musk reciprocated, saying that he was “impressed” by the prime minister, calling him an “asset to the UK”.
These messages are a far cry from the series of posts Mr Musk has made over the past week about the current Prime Minister and the strong words Downing Street has issued in response.
Musk questions arrest of Tommy Robinson
Before he began responding directly to the Prime Minister, Mr Musk posted multiple tweets commenting on the continuing riots in the UK and the treatment of far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
On 30 July, he responded to a video by German right-wing activist Naomi Seibt in which she criticised the fact that Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had been arrested a few days earlier under the Terrorism Act.
Mr Musk responded to the video asking why Robinson had been “defined as a terrorist”, adding: “Has he committed a violent crime or expressed clear intent to commit a violent crime?”
Robinson was detained at the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, which allows police to stop, examine and search passengers at ports, airports and international rail terminals.
He was arrested for the “frustration of a schedule 7 examination” and released on bail while enquiries continue.
It comes after Robinson was accused of breaching a court order barring him from repeating allegations he made against Jamal Hijazi.
The Syrian refugee has brought a High Court case against Robinson over comments he made in 2018, when Mr Hijazi was 17, which included false allegations he had attacked girls in his school.
