Elon Musk triggers ANOTHER row with Keir Starmer over race riots after being barred from UK business summit as Tories warn snubbing X owner could cost Britain a Tesla factory and thousands of jobs
Right-wing tech billionaire Elon Musk has urged a boycott of the UK after being snubbed by Keir Starmer in a spat over his comments about the summer race riots.
Right-wing tech billionaire Elon Musk has urged a boycott of the UK after being snubbed by Keir Starmer in a spat over his comments about the summer race riots.
The controversial X owner reignited his row with the Prime Minister after being denied an invite to an October investment summit over false claims he made on his platform last month.
In a blast at Sir Keir, the worlds richest man urged people to stay away from the UK while it was releasing convicted paedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts.
The jibe appears aimed at the Governments decision to free prisoners early to jail those convicted after the racist violence.
The Tories today attacked the decision to bar Mr Musk from the summit, with shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt telling the BBC it was a big loss.
He told me last year he was planning a new car plant in Europe and had not decided where but the UK was a candidate, Mr Hunt said.
The controversial X owner has reportedly not been invited to an investment summit next month after he used the platform to criticise Sir Keir and make unsubstantiated claimed about the UK.
Mr Musk branded the PM #TwoTierKeir, in reference to claims or allegations of two tier policing in Britain complaining about harsh sentences handed out to those involved in the disorder fuelled by far-right thugs.
After three children were killed in a stabbing attack in Southport, and violence erupted across the UK
The Tories today attacked the decision to bar Mr Musk from the summit, with shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt telling the BBC it was a big loss.
It also emerged today that Peter Kyle, the Science, Innovation and Technology, has yet to speak directly to Mr Musk, despite being responsible for social media policing. A source told the Independent they were in contact via an intermediary.
The tech entrepreneur has previously alleged the UK has a two-tier criminal justice system that treats those guilty of offences linked to the disorder too harshly.
Sir Keir 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.
The decision to NFI Mr Musk comes after he was feted by previous Tory PM Rishi Sunak at an AI event at Bletchley Park last year. The PM also conducted an interview with Mr Musk.
Mr Musk replied to a tweet saying he had been snubbed for defending free speech, writing: I dont think anyone should go to the UK when theyre releasing convicted pedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts.
Paedophiles were explicitly blocked from the early release scheme and there are no reports yet that any were released by accident.
The decision to NFI Mr Musk comes after he was feted by previous Tory PM Rishi Sunak at an AI event at Bletchley Park last year. The PM also conducted an interview with Mr Musk (video below)
After three children were killed in a stabbing attack in Southport and violence erupted across the UK, Mr Musk branded the PM #TwoTierKeir, in reference to claims or allegations of two tier policing in Britain complaining about harsh sentences handed out to those involved in the disorder fuelled by far-right thugs.
He also said civil war is inevitable in the wake of the chaos, and was left red-faced as he pushed false claims about the PM setting up detainment camps in the Falklands.
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 Europes largest AI data centre in Blyth, Northumberland.
The firms 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 Governments Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit last year, during which Mr Sunak interviewed him for almost an hour in front of business chiefs.
Mr Musk shared a doctored headline that falsely stated Sir Keir was considering building emergency prisons on the Falkland Islands for arrested rioters
The billionaire shared the post on X made by Ashlea Simon, co-leader of far-right group Britain First
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, suggesting 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 Musks comments on civil war were deeply irresponsible and Sir Keirs spokesman said there was no justification for comments like that.
Earlier this month, some 1,700 prisoners were released early from their sentences in the first phase of the Governments 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.
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, Im 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: Im 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, thats freedom of speech.
The Government declined to comment.
