In short:
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the spreading of "lies and misinformation" as undermining the United Kingdom's democracy.
Mr Starmer's comments come after a barrage of online attacks levelled at his government by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Mr Musk has been heavily critical of the British government since its election in July, and previously demanded Mr Starmer be imprisoned.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned "lies and misinformation" he says is undermining the United Kingdom's democracy, after a series of public criticisms levelled at him by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Mr Musk has taken an intense and erratic interest in British politics since the centre-left Labour Party was elected in July, has used his social network, X, to call for a new election and has demanded Mr 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."
British prime minister Keir Starmer has condemned the spreading of 'lies and misinformation' in the wake of a barrage of online attacks levelled at his government by Elon Musk. (AP: Leon Neal/Pool Photo)
During a question session at a hospital near London, Mr Starmer responded to the barrage of attacks on his government and criticised "those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible".
He made particular reference to opposition Conservative politicians in Britain who have echoed some of Mr Musk's claims.
Mr Musk often posts on X about the UK, retweeting criticism of Mr 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.
During the British summer when anti-immigrant violence broke out across the UK, Mr Musk tweeted that "civil war is inevitable".
Mr Musk has been critical of the Starmer government since it was elected in July. (Reuters: Rachel Wisniewski/File)
Recently he has also 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 accuse politicians of covering up the "grooming gangs" out of a fear of appearing racist.
Mr Musk has posted a demand for a new public inquiry into the cases.
A huge, seven-year inquiry was held under the previous Conservative government, though many of the 20 recommendations it made in 2022 — including compensation for abuse victims — have yet to be implemented.
Elon Musk calls for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to quit
Photo shows A composite image showing the faces of Elon Musk and Nigel Farage
Mr Starmer's government said it would act on them as quickly as possible.
Mr Musk also has accused Starmer of failing to bring perpetrators to justice when he was England's director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.
Mr Starmer defended his record as chief prosecutor, saying he had reopened closed cases and "changed the whole prosecution approach" to child sexual exploitation.
He also condemned language used by Mr Musk about Jess Phillips, a government minister responsible for combating violence against women and girls. Mr Musk called Ms Phillips a "rape genocide apologist" and said she deserved to be in prison.
"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," Mr Starmer said.
"I enjoy the cut and thrust of politics, the robust debate that we must have, but that's got to be based on facts and truth, not on lies."
Mr Musk has also called for the release of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a far-right activist who goes by the name Tommy Robinson and is serving a prison sentence for contempt of court.
Mr Starmer said people "cheerleading Tommy Robinson … are trying to get some vicarious thrill from street violence that people like Tommy Robinson promote".
Mr Starmer largely avoided mentioning Mr Musk by name in his responses, likely wary of giving him more of a spotlight — or of angering Musk ally Donald Trump, who is due to be inaugurated as US president on January 20.
Mr Musk's incendiary interventions are a growing worry for governments elsewhere in Europe, too.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, another target of the X owner's ire, said he was staying "cool" over critical personal comments made by Mr Musk, but found it worrying that the billionaire made the effort to get involved in Germany's election by endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
AP
