Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has been going after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the last few days now over a child sexual exploitation scandal that emerged during the latter’s tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions.
The billionaire, who has been highly critical of Starmer including during anti-immigration riots that rocked England and Northern Irish cities last year, upped the ante against the PM over the Southport stabbing attack in July 2024 that left three children dead and sparked violence across the country.A video of Starmer was shared where he condemned Islamophobia, saying it left people fearful and unsafe in their own country. “The surge of Islamophobia is simply appalling. Muslim women and girls are disproportionately targeted, mosques forced to ramp up security and British Muslims questioned as if they are terrorists,” he was heard saying.
A user criticised Starmer for condemning Islamophobia while the three children were allegedly stabbed to death by a Muslim in England last year. Notably, the UK Police have already said that the suspect in the Southport stabbing attack was a British citizen who was originally from Rwanda.Sharing the user’s tweet, Musk wrote, “Prison for Starmer.” Over the last few days, the Tesla CEO has increasingly questioned Starmer’s silence on Pakistani rape gangs and even called for fresh elections in Britain.
What Happened In Southport?
On July 29, a mass stabbing attack shook the UK outside a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance studio in Southport, UK. Three children – Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9 were killed. The accused was identified as Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the incident.
Rudakubana is due to stand trial this month at the Liverpool crown court and faces charges of murder for the three children and 10 counts of attempted murder, along with possession of a knife, production of biological toxin ricin and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
The next day, far-rights protests engulfed England following a misinformation campaign alleging that the attacker was a radical Islamist immigrant who was known to intelligence services. Protests spread across the country, where shops were looted and mosques and Muslim-owned businesses were attacked.
Videos of several ethnic minorities being beaten up also emerged on social media, culminating in the UK’s worst social disorder in years with over 1,000 people arrested. Police were forced to divulge the identity of the attacker and said he was a British citizen who was originally from Rwanda.
Musk Slams Starmer Over ‘Rape Gangs’
Elon Musk has also criticised the British government over the Rotherham sex scandal, where a report revealed that despite being aware, police and child protection agencies failed to prosecute thousands of child sexual exploitation crimes occurring annually, primarily involving networks of Pakistani-origin men.Musk accused Starmer of failing to bring “rape gangs” to justice when he was director of public prosecutions. Musk also suggested that Jess Phillips, minister for the prevention of violence against women and girls, “deserves to be in prison” for refusing a request for a national public inquiry into the scandal.
Senior British government minister Wes Streeting said Musk’s comments were “misjudged and certainly misinformed” and that the government took child sexual exploitation “incredibly seriously”.A series of official inquiries into how police and social workers failed to halt the abuse found that officials in some cases turned a blind eye to avoid appearing racist.
