The office of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned Elon Musk after the billionaire claimed “civil war is inevitable” in Britain amid far-right riots.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said Monday that there was “no justification” for Musk’s comment after he used his online platform X, formally called Twitter, to weigh in on the violence that has shaken the country since last week.
“There’s no justification for comments like that, and what we’ve seen in this country is organized illegal thuggery, which has no place on our streets or online,” the spokesman said .
“We’re talking about a minority of thugs that do not speak for Britain, and in response to it, we’ve seen some of the best of our communities coming out to clean up the mess and disruption.”
“You can tell from that the prime minister doesn’t share those sentiments,” he added.
Musk has intervened at least twice since disorder broke out after three girls were fatally stabbed in Southport, northwest England, on July 29.
Misinformation on social media over the identity of the attacker has whipped up anti-immigrant sentiment.
Before the outbreak of violence, long-standing anti-immigration campaigner Nigel Farage — who was elected to Parliament last month — speculated “whether the truth is being withheld from us” about the attack and suggested it might be an act of terrorism.
On Saturday, Musk wrote “civil war is inevitable” in response to a post sharing a video from the Libs of TikTok’s X account, which depicted violent riots in Liverpool, a city near Southport.
The video was originally posted by British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose suspended X account was restored by Musk last year after the world’s richest man bought the site.
On Monday, Musk responded to a video posted on X by Starmer, who said the government “will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities.”
“Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on all communities?” Musk replied .
The National Police Chiefs’ Council said Monday that 378 people have been arrested so far, and more are expected as angry mobs have attacked mosques and hotels used to house asylum-seekers, while stores have been looted.
The violence, which has led to clashes on the streets with riot police, has drawn counter-protests and volunteers helping to repair the damage caused to buildings.
The confrontations began after rumors that the 17-year-old suspect in the Southport attack was an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain. However, the teen, who has since been charged with murder and attempted murder, was born in the U.K. to Rwandan parents.
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