Billionaire social media platform owner Elon Musk has launched a tirade against Sir Keir Starmer amid fears that Britain is on the cusp of descending further into civil unrest.
It came as a standing army of 6,000 police officers was preparing for a new wave of violence at 39 demonstrations planned around the UK.
There was fury that Mr Musk used far-right messages and images to attack Sir Keir personally as he appeared to fan the flames of discontent. But when questioned on the X owner’s comments, he repeatedly refused to even acknowledge Mr Musk by name.
The apparently unprovoked attack on Starmer and the UK government from across the Atlantic came as:
- Two emergency meetings were called by Sir Keir, first with his cabinet and then the emergency committee Cobra to prepare for more violence
- Fears offices of legal firms that help asylum seekers and asylum centres will be targeted in 39 protests planned for Wednesday
- A warning the violence is set to spread to new parts of the country, with concerns flagged up by Scottish secretary Ian Murray
- Residents and businesses board up homes and offices in target areas
- 1,000 writers, actors and musicians call for an end to racism, condemning violence
- The address of an 88-year-old grandmother was wrongly included on a far-right target list
- Security advice has been handed out to MPs over fears they could be targeted
With Britain braced for further violence, there were also calls for a travel ban to be imposed on Mr Musk over fears that his tirade of tweets being posted on his own social media website could fan the flames of riots.
Mr Musk, who has 193 million followers on X and is donating millions to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, suggested on Monday that “civil war is inevitable” in the UK – comments which were criticised by Downing Street.
But this was as nothing to the plethora of tweets he put out on Tuesday as he also claimed that his site X is “the UK’s biggest source of news” at a time when his own messages appeared to repeat fake claims.
It was quite a turnaround from a man for whom former prime minister Rishi Sunak rolled out the red carpet last November ahead of an artificial intelligence conference.
Most damaging was his tweet with the hashtag #twotierkeir – a far-right claim which has been used to justify the riots, suggesting police are going soft on left-wing and Islamic protesters but hard on far-right white working-class protesters. He appeared to repeat conspiracy theories which critics claim are also being pushed by another friend of Mr Trump, Nigel Farage.
The allegation is police are afraid of being branded racist so will not tackle violent Muslim demonstrators, including those making antisemitic chants. Ironically, the “two-tier” claim from Mr Musk came just as a lawyer for a Muslim man who was kicked in the head at Manchester airport alleged the police were racist.
Mr Musk also posted an image of the lead character from the adult cartoon Family Guy in an electric chair with the message: “In 2030 for making a Facebook comment that the UK government didn’t like.”
Other posts included an image comparing the treatment of three alleged rapists which suggested the Muslim man had avoided jail, but it turned out that the man identified was not guilty of the crime claimed.
Another tweet from Mr Musk showed footage of an armed Muslim gang of men in Birmingham with the message: “Why aren’t all communities protected in Britain? @Keir_Starmer.”
Mr Sunak has made no comment about the man he lauded who is now trolling Britain on social media.
Sir Keir also ignored Mr Musk and repeatedly refused to be drawn on the issue when speaking to the BBC after his emergency Cobra meeting.
He said: “My focus is on ensuring that our communities are safe. That is my sole focus and I think it’s very important for us all to support the police in what they’re doing.
“I went up to Southport to speak to some of the police who had been the first responders to the terrible attack that happened. They described the scene to me and what they had to deal with when those girls were attacked.
“Those same officers were then attacked on their own streets later the same day – the same officers who had been the first responders.
“Our first duty is to support the police in a difficult exercise that they are engaged in, keeping us safe… the police are doing a difficult job in difficult circumstances and I think that everybody should be giving their full support to ensure that we can make sure that our streets are safe and our communities feel safe and secure.
“That is really where the focus ought to be. That is my sole focus and that’s why I held this second Cobra meeting.”
But justice minister Heidi Alexander said: “We have got police officers being seriously injured on our streets. People are looting buildings. They’re setting buildings alight, and for someone who has a big platform, a large following, to be exercising that power in such an irresponsible way, I think is actually pretty unconscionable.”
Meanwhile, commentator Nels Abbey, author of Think Like a White Man, demanded a UK travel ban on Mr Musk.
He said: “Britain banned Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown, Ja Rule and Michael Savage for a lot less than inciting race riots and winking towards a civil war in our country. Keir Starmer should ban Elon Musk from entering the UK and using our airspace.”
The two Labour MPs competing for the chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee – Chi Onwurah and Dawn Butler – have both told Politico that they will demand Mr Musk appears before them to answer for his behaviour.
Sir Keir’s “standing army” of almost 6,000 specialist riot officers is braced for further unrest after a list shared online singled out immigration lawyers, charities and support services for mass action on Wednesday evening.
One immigration advice centre is boarding up its windows over fears of clashes as the Law Society, representing solicitors in England and Wales, said it has “serious concerns” about the safety of its members.
They called for the prime minister to treat threats against the legal profession with the “utmost seriousness” as one immigration lawyer revealed he had received a death threat.
At least 19 counterprotests are planned to defend immigration services being targeted on the list, which was widely shared in far-right groups on Telegram.
Anti-fascist campaign group Hope not Hate described the roll of targets, circulated by an anonymous organiser also linked to riots in Southport and Liverpool, as a “hit list” and urged everyone named to be on high alert.
At an emergency cabinet meeting, Sir Keir updated his senior ministers. Afterwards, he said: “When I went to Southport, I spoke to police who described what it was like to attend the mass stabbing of little girls and then to be back on duty the next day in riot gear, having bricks thrown at them.
“This is something no one would have ever wanted to see and we need to be calling it out for what it is. It is not protest. It is violent disorder and needs to be treated as such, as criminal activity.
“Ninety-nine point nine per cent of people across the country want their streets to be safe and to feel safe in their communities, and we will take all necessary action to bring the disorder to an end.”
The prime minister then held an evening session of the emergency Cobra committee meeting with his deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, home secretary Yvette Cooper, senior government officials and police chiefs to ensure the authorities are prepared for a new wave of violence.
Scottish secretary Ian Murray also put out a warning that the unrest could spread to Scotland. He said: “I’ve spoken to the chief constable of Police Scotland today and made clear to her that she and her officers have my full support. I am reassured that they do not have any specific intelligence that disorder is likely in Scotland at this point, but we must not be complacent.”
So far, courts have not been asked to stay open 24/7 but the measure is possible if the number of cases involving rioters continues to balloon.