UK leader Starmer slams 'lies and misinformation' after attacks from Elon Musk
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday condemned “lies and misinformation” that he said are undermining U.K. democracy, in response to a barrage of attacks on his government from Elon Musk. The billionaire Tesla CEO has taken an intense and erratic interest in British politics since the center-left Labour Party was elected in July. Musk has used his social network, X, to call for a new election and demand Starmer be imprisoned. On Monday he posted an online poll for his 210 million followers on the proposition: “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government.”.
Asked about Musk’s comments, Starmer criticized “those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible,” particularly opposition Conservative politicians in Britain who have echoed some of Musk’s claims. Musk often posts on X about the U.K., retweeting criticism of Starmer and the hashtag TwoTierKeir -– shorthand for an unsubstantiated claim that Britain has “two-tier policing” with far-right protesters treated more harshly than pro-Palestinian or Black Lives Matter demonstrators.
Recently Musk has focused on child sexual abuse, particularly a series of cases that rocked northern England towns in which groups of men, largely from Pakistani backgrounds, were tried for grooming and abusing dozens of girls. The cases have been used by far-right activists to link child abuse to immigration, and to attack politicians for allegedly covering up the “grooming gangs” out of a fear of appearing racist.
