UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has hit back at controversial comments made by Elon Musk about British Muslims and sexual abuse, culminating in the X chief calling for the Labour leader to be jailed.
Musk fired a series of tweets aimed at the Labour government and Starmer regarding historic rape scandals over the weekend, as well as the right-wing Reform Party leader Nigel Farage over his refusal to back anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson.
In one of the most provocative posts, Musk described Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips as a "rape genocide apologist" and called for Robinson, jailed for contempt of court last year, to be freed, insinuating he is a 'political prisoner'.
On Monday, Starmer fired back after days of provocations by Musk, in particular the targeting of individual members of his government.
"Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible are not interested in victims, they are interested in themselves," Starmer said.
"We've seen this playbook many times, whipping up of intimidation and threats of violence, hoping that the media will amplify it... when the poison of the far-right leads to serious threats to Jess Phillips and others then in my book a line has been crossed."
Musk, who is the world's richest man and will serve as an advisor to Donald Trump after the president's 20 January inauguration, is becoming an increasingly controversial figure in the UK after comments on the new Labour government.
He promoted far-right accounts and false narratives around the killing of three children in Southport, UK last summer, including claims the suspect was a Muslim and immigrant.
This weekend, Musk commented on the historic case involving the mass rape and sexual exploitation of around 1,400 girls in Northern England between 1997 and 2013.
Starmer was the UK's chief prosecutor from 2008 to 2013 and was knighted for his services to criminal justice, while Phillips has played a key role in working with victims of sexual abuse.
Musk focused on the Muslim and Pakistani heritage of those involved in the crimes, which follows other allegedly Islamophobic comments and fake stories promoted by the figure on X, formerly Twitter.
This weekend, he also targeted the leader of the right-wing Reform Party Nigel Farage over his condemnation of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, a well-known anti-Islam agitator.
After Musk tweeted the comment "Prison for Starmer" and asked followers whether the US should "should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government", there were concerns in the UK about the role he might play in the new Trump administration.
Musk has promoted extremist figures in the UK, such as Robinson, and publicly backed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, as well as pledging to donate to the Reform Party to the tune of an unprecedented $100 million (£80 million).
One British Labour MP questioned Musk's interference in the country's politics and said he has clearly misunderstood many of the issues regarding the UK, including the failure of the previous Conservative government to implement many of the recommendations highlighted in an inquiry into the Rotherham sexual abuse scandal.
The source, who wished to remain anonymous, told °®Âþµº that Musk's comments have done a disservice to the victims of the scandal and that figures with such money and influence need to be more wary about the consequences of their words.