Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Co-Chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 05, 2024 in Washington, DC.
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Elon Musk has questioned whether the United States should “liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government” after hitting out at top U.K. lawmakers.
In recent days, the tech billionaire and key adviser to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has taken to social media to air his grievances with the British government, resulting in a war of words between the Tesla boss and a U.K. government official.
In a series of posts on the X social media platform — which Musk owns — the tech tycoon hit out at the U.K.’s Labour government, criticizing its handling of historic child abuse scandals.
Musk accused the U.K. Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips of being a “rape genocide apologist” on Friday, before publishing a series of posts calling for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to be ousted and face jail time over how child grooming gangs and other criminals who targeted children have been prosecuted.
His criticisms of the U.K. government over the weekend culminated in a poll, where he posed the concept of “liberating the people of Britain” to the platform’s users.
Musk’s comments came after Phillips rejected calls for a government-led inquiry into child sexual exploitation in the town of Oldham.
Prior to embarking on a political career, Starmer served as the U.K.’s Director of Public Prosecutions, running the Crown Prosecution Service during the country’s child rape gangs scandal. Phillips worked for Women’s Aid, a charity that assists women who are victims of domestic violence, before taking on a role in politics.
A spokesperson for Phillips was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
‘A line has been crossed’
“On the question of Elon Musk … it is a really important set of issues. Child sexual exploitation is utterly sickening,” Starmer said in response to a question during a Monday press conference. “[But] those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible — they’re not interested in victims, they’re interested in themselves.”
Starmer on Monday defended his activity as the former Director of Public Prosecutions, noting that the Crown Prosecution Service had the highest number of child sexual abuse cases being prosecuted on record, by the time he left office.
“Just as I took on the criminal justice system and the institutions when I was chief prosecutor, I’m prepared to call out this for what it is,” he told reporters.
“When the poison of the far right leads to serious threats to Jess Phillips and others, in my book a line has been crossed. I enjoy the cut and thrust of politics, but that’s got to be based on facts … not on those who are so desperate for attention that they’re prepared to debase themselves and their country.”
Representatives for Musk were not immediately available for comment.
War of words
Starmer’s comments came after U.K. Health Minister Wes Streeting slammed Musk’s attack on Phillips as a “disgraceful smear” over the weekend.
“Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips, who have both been on the end of completely ill-judged criticism have done, in their professional lives, more than most people will ever do to lock up paedophiles, rapists, wife beaters and every other scumbag in our society,” he said in an interview with broadcasters the BBC.
Streeting challenged Musk to “roll his sleeves up and actually do something about tackling violence against women and girls,” citing the role of digital platforms “in keeping people safe online.”
The skirmish with Musk — who has landed a job leading a new office for the incoming Trump administration — takes place two weeks ahead of the inauguration of the second presidency of Donald Trump, amid questions over the fate of the “special relationship” between the U.K. and the U.S.
Britain has already come under pressure to build bridges with the President-elect after a top official’s past jibes about Trump resurfaced. The EU has meanwhile been strengthening ties with the U.K. ahead of Trump’s return to the White House, with a view to protect both parties against possible U.S. trade tariffs.