Minister slams Elon Musk's 'deplorable' civil war claims (2024)

A minister today hit out at Elon Musk's 'deplorable' claim that civil war in the UK is 'inevitable' - as the billionaire launched a new attack on Britain's police after clashing with the Prime Minister.

The owner of X is at the centre of an intensifying war of words with the Government after he used his platform to make a series of inflammatory claims over race riots seen on the streets of Britain in recent days.

SirKeir Starmerand Downing Streetlast night hit outat the billionaire for suggesting 'civil war is inevitable' following days of rioting fuelled by disinformation on social media after the deaths of three little girls in Southport last week.

Asked about Mr Musk's comments today, Justice minister Heidi Alexander told BBC Breakfast 'everyone should be calling for calm' and that Musk in particular 'has a responsibility given the huge platform he has, and so, to be honest, I think his comments are pretty deplorable'.

The Prime Minister's spokesman yesterday said there was 'no justification for comments like that', prompting Mr Musk to reply directlyby responding to a video posted by the PM stressing attacks on mosques and Muslims would not be tolerated.

The mogul, who is the richest man in the world with more than $200billion and has 193million followers on X, askedSir Keir: 'Shouldn't you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?'

Overnight he then responded to a cartoon featuring offensive caricatures of two men, one wearing a headband featuring the flag of Pakistan, holding a knife, alongside a police officer with the caption: 'We are here to protect you.'

Underneath is a man saying: 'I don't want my children to get stabbed', while a police officer accuses him of being a 'Nazi'.

The user who posted the cartoon wrote 'The UK police are compromised' - to which Musk responded: 'Does seem one-sided'.

So-called 'two tier policing' is a claim often used by the far-right to imply that police treat certain groups of people in different ways.

Ms Alexander attacked Mr Musk again in a separate interview this morning.

She told Times Radio: 'I agree with what the spokesperson on behalf of the Prime Minister was saying yesterday. I do think these comments are unjustifiable.

'If you have got a platform, a large social media platform, then you have also got a responsibility.

'I think it is deeply irresponsible, I think everyone should be appealing for calm.

'Use of language such as a 'civil war' is in no way acceptable. We are seeing police officers being seriously injured, buildings set alight, and so I really do think that everyone who has a platform should be exercising their power responsibly.'

The clash came as Cabinet ministers blamed social media for allowing hate and fake news to be spread, leading to violent riots by the far-Right that have seen migrant hotels and mosquesattacked in the wake of the Southport stabbings a week ago.

False claims spread rapidly on X and other social media platforms that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat a year previously. In fact the 17-year-old suspect was born in Cardiff and has no known links to Islam.

Last night hundreds of far-Right activists and anti-racist protesters came face-to-face in Plymouth, where beer bottles, flares and a crutch were flung through the air, leaving police officers injured.

And in Birmingham a Sky News van was attacked by a knife-wielding man after members of the Muslim community gathered amid claims far-Right groups would target the Small Heath area.

Police have also been warned of alleged plans by far-Right groups to hit dozens of immigration targets across Britain on Wednesday night.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday said social media has put 'rocket boosters' under such groups.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting warned that the spread of disinformation online is 'an existential threat to democracy'.

He told the Edinburgh Fringe festival: 'We've got to wake up, not just as Britain but as democracies collectively, to what is actually a threat to our democracy, to our national security, to trust in politics, which is already kind of rock bottom anyway.'

And Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: 'Responsibility for harmful social media content principally rests with the individuals and groups who create it.

'But it is undeniable that social media has provided a platform for this hate.'

He held individual meetings with bosses from US-based X, Facebook, Google and TikTok yesterday to make clear their responsibility to 'stop the spread of hateful misinformation and incitement'.

No 10 said action taken by the firms so far has not gone far enough.

'There is more that they can and should be doing,' Sir Keir's spokesman said.

After the first emergency Cobra meeting about the riots, Downing Street also put online agitators on notice that they will be brought to justice alongside the rioters themselves.

'Anyone who is guilty of criminal behaviour online, anyone who is whipping up violence online, will face the full force of law.'

The landmark Online Safety Act passed by the previous government will mean tech giants face multi-million pound fines if they fail to protect users from illegal content such as messages provoking hatred, disorder or violence.

But the duties on the firms will not come into force for several months, as regulator Ofcom is still consulting on its codes of practice and guidance.

However, the watchdog said platforms can act now rather than waiting for the law to come into force.

X has been accused of refusing to delete racist comments while allowing controversial activists such as Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate back on the platform.

The false claim that a Muslim asylum seeker was the suspect in the Southport stabbings was first made on X by a British woman before going viral when it was spread by Russia-linked fake news website Channel3 Now.

And, as the Mail revealed, English Defence League founder Mr Robinson was stoking the race riots with a series of video rants on X while he was on holiday in Cyprus.

But Mr Musk himself has made at least ten comments about the riots – mostly replying to other users and thereby massively increasing their reach.

After a prominent account posted a video of rioters setting off fireworks at police and a Right-wing commentator blamed mass migration, Mr Musk replied: 'Civil war is inevitable.'

Asked about the remark, Sir Keir's spokesman said: 'There's no justification for comments like that.

'And what we've seen is organised violent thuggery that has no place on our streets or online.'

Yesterday Sir Keir posted a video condemning the violence and warning that criminal justice will be 'ramped up'.

He added: 'We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities.'

In response, Mr Musk wrote, in a comment that received 70,000 likes and 12,000 reposts in three hours: 'Shouldn't you be concerned about attacks on communities?'

The X owner also agreed that UK police 'seem one-sided' in response to a cartoon accusing officers of going soft on violent Islamists.

And he added: 'If incompatible cultures are brought together without assimilation, conflict is inevitable.'

Expert on online disinformation Dr Marc Owen Jones said: 'Musk is definitely fanning the flames… he is clearly contributing to the problem.'

X did not respond to requests to comment.