British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned what he calls “the spreading of lies and misinformation” after being harshly criticized by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk, an ally of elected President Donald Trump, accused Starmer of failing to investigate cases of child sexual exploitation. According to Voice of America correspondent Henry Ridgwell, this marks the latest intervention by Musk in European politics.
In recent days, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has focused several of his social media posts on the British government. Without providing evidence, Musk accused the UK government of being complicit in the failure to investigate criminal groups exploiting minors.
The issues are related to a two-decade period involving the sexual exploitation of children by criminal gangs.
Tim Bale, a political science professor at Queen Mary University of London, stated that there was a sense that these gangs, particularly those involving men of Pakistani descent, were not being investigated with enough force by the police. This was partly due to the police’s approach to the complainants—mostly working-class girls who were not taken seriously by the police—and perhaps due to concerns about community relations, making authorities reluctant to appear racist.
Among those who claimed there was a cover-up of illegal activities was far-right activist Tommy Robinson, now in prison on related charges. Musk wrote on X, stating that Robinson should be freed and that “those who hid this farce should be in his cell.”
Musk accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to investigate child-exploiting gangs during his tenure as the UK’s chief prosecutor. Speaking on Monday, Starmer responded:
“Those who spread lies and misinformation as much as they can are not interested in the victims, but in themselves. Those who support Tommy Robinson do not care about justice. They are supporting a person who was jailed because he nearly disrupted an investigation into such a gang,” said the British Prime Minister.
Starmer added that as the chief prosecutor, he had initiated numerous investigations into child abuse and brought the first case against an Asian gang exploiting children. However, Musk later repeated his criticism, calling the British Prime Minister “utterly despicable.”
Starmer did not mention Musk by name, noted Professor Bale.
“Due to his proximity to Donald Trump, I think Prime Minister Starmer needs to be careful and choose his words wisely, which is why he cannot openly go against Musk by name,” said Professor Bale.
Musk has also criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and openly supports the far-right party “Alternative for Germany.”
Some lawmakers have called for European regulatory agencies to take action against X for spreading misinformation, as they claim.
“I doubt anything will happen. It’s just that Elon Musk likes to see himself as an absolute defender of freedom of speech. Most politicians, in most countries and parties, support free speech themselves,” Professor Bale added.
In a further development, Musk appeared to clash with Nigel Farage, an early ally of President-elect Donald Trump.
Musk wrote on X that Farage “lacks the necessary skills” to lead the Reform Party of the UK after Farage refused to support imprisoned activist Tommy Robinson.
Farage responded, reaffirming his stance.
