Elon Musk ‘not invited’ to International Investment Summit hosted by UK

Elon Musk has not been invited to the International Investment Summit the UK Government is hosting in October because of his social media posts during last month’s riots.

After three children were killed in a stabbing attack in Southport and violence erupted across the UK, X owner Mr Musk posted on his platform promoting false claims, suggesting that a civil war in the UK was “inevitable” and attacking the Prime Minister.

Billionaire Mr Musk has not been invited to the October summit because of his social media posts during the disorder, the BBC has reported.

Mr Musk responded to a tweet saying that he had been snubbed by the UK, saying: “I don’t think anyone should go to the UK when they’re releasing convicted paedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts.”

Earlier this month, some 1,700 prisoners were released early from their sentences in the first phase of the Government’s plan to tackle overcrowding. Sex offenders are excluded from the policy.

Some people have been jailed for stirring up racial hatred in relation to social media posts they made during the unrest in August.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will host the International Investment Summit on October 14 – two weeks before the autumn Budget.

The Government hopes the summit will attract hundreds of leading chief executives and financiers and is part of efforts to show that the UK is “open for business” after a period of political and economic turmoil.

BNY, Blackstone and CyrusOne have confirmed attendance, according to the Treasury. A list of attendees has not been released.

Investment giant Blackstone has already confirmed a £10 billion deal to develop Europe’s largest AI data centre in Blyth, Northumberland.

The firm’s president, Jon Gray, will be among the executives at a roundtable event hosted by Sir Keir on Thursday.

Mr Musk was a star guest at the UK Government’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit last year, during which then-prime minister Rishi Sunak interviewed him for almost an hour in front of business chiefs.

But it appears he will not be courted by the new Labour administration after his posts about the disorder in the UK last month.

False information that spread on social media about the identity of the alleged Southport knife attacker has been seen as playing a role in sparking the days of violence.

The billionaire engaged with posts by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, suggested that civil war in the UK was “inevitable”, and retweeted a fake Daily Telegraph headline suggesting rioters would be sent to detention camps in the Falkland Islands.

The social media tycoon also called the Prime Minister “two-tier Keir”, a reference to claims that police have a “two-tier” approach to protests and deal with some more harshly than others.

Justice Minister Heidi Alexander said at the time that Mr Musk’s comments on civil war were “deeply irresponsible” and Sir Keir’s spokesman said there was “no justification for comments like that”.

Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has said she is a “huge fan” of Mr Musk.

“I think Elon Musk has been a fantastic thing for freedom of speech. I will hold my hand up and say, I’m a huge fan of Elon Musk,” she said in an interview with The Spectator.

The other three hopefuls were also asked whether Musk has been a good thing for freedom of speech.

Robert Jenrick said he does not have a “strong opinion” on the billionaire, but added: “I’m not going to be booking a tete-a-tete with Elon Musk any time soon.”

James Cleverly meanwhile warned against “curtailing voices that you disagree with”, while Tom Tugendhat said that “If you are allowed to say whatever you like but you put your name to it, that’s freedom of speech”.

The Government and X have been contacted for comment.