UK leader Starmer slams ‘lies and misinformation’ after attacks from Elon Musk

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday condemned “lies and misinformation” that he said are undermining U.K. democracy, in response to a barrage of attacks on his government from Elon Musk.

The billionaire Tesla CEO has taken an intense and erratic interest in British politics since the center-left Labour Party was elected in July. Musk has used his social network, X, to call for a new election and demand Starmer be imprisoned. On Monday he posted an online poll for his 210 million followers on the proposition: “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government.”

Asked about Musk’s comments, Starmer criticized “those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible,” particularly opposition Conservative politicians in Britain who have echoed some of Musk’s claims.

Musk often posts on X about the U.K., retweeting criticism of Starmer and the hashtag TwoTierKeir -– shorthand for an unsubstantiated claim that Britain has “two-tier policing” with far-right protesters treated more harshly than pro-Palestinian or Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

Recently Musk has focused on child sexual abuse, particularly a series of cases that rocked northern England towns in which groups of men, largely from Pakistani backgrounds, were tried for grooming and abusing dozens of girls. The cases have been used by far-right activists to link child abuse to immigration, and to attack politicians for allegedly covering up the “grooming gangs” out of a fear of appearing racist.

Musk has posted a demand for a public inquiry into the cases. An inquiry was held under the previous Conservative government, though many of the recommendations it made in 2022 have yet to be implemented.

Musk also has accused Starmer of failing to bring perpetrators to justice when he was England’s director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.

Answering questions after a speech near London, Starmer defended his record as chief prosecutor, saying he had reopened closed cases and “changed the whole prosecution approach” to child sexual exploitation.

He also condemned language used by Musk about Jess Phillips, a government minister responsible for combating violence against women and girls. Musk called Phillips a “rape genocide apologist” and said she deserved to be in prison.

“When the poison of the far-right leads to serious threats to Jess Phillips and others, then in my book, a line has been crossed,” Starmer said. “I enjoy the cut and thrust of politics, the robust debate that we must have, but that’s got to be based on facts and truth, not on lies.”

Starmer largely avoided mentioning Musk by name in his responses, likely wary of giving him more of a spotlight. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, another target of the X owner’s ire, has taken a similar approach. Scholz said he is staying “cool” against critical personal comments made by Musk, but finds it worrying that the U.S. billionaire makes the effort to get involved in a general election by endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Starmer said the main issue was not Musk’s posts on X, but “what are politicians here doing to stand up for our democracy?”

He said he was concerned about Conservative politicians in Britain “so desperate for attention they are amplifying what the far right are saying.”

“Once we lose the anchor that truth matters … then we are on a very slippery slope,” he said.