Politicians in Britain are condemning tech billionaire Elon Musk for comments he made Sunday to an anti-immigration rally, in which he told far-right Britons that they would have to “fight” for their future or “die.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the comments from the X and Tesla CEO “dangerous” and “inflammatory.” The right-wing, anti-immigration “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London saw more than 100,000 people attend. The rally turned violent, with 26 police officers injured, four seriously, along with 25 arrested following clashes with counter-protesters, according to the Metropolitan Police.
Addressing the rally via video link, Musk had called for an end to Starmer’s center-left government and warned the rally-goers that “violence” was imminent.
“Violence is coming to you,” Musk said. “You either fight back or you die.”
Starmer, in response, said that the UK is “a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect” in a post on X. “But [we] will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin.”
Starmer spokesperson Dave Pares said that the British public would not “have any truck” Musk’s words.
“The U.K. is a fair, tolerant and decent country, so the last thing that British people want is dangerous and inflammatory language which threatens violence and intimidation on our streets,” Pares said.
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Ed Davey, leader of the third-largest political party in the U.K., the Liberal Democrats, criticized Musk for attempting to “sow discord and incite violence on our streets” and “endanger public safety.” In a letter to Starmer and Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, Davey also called for action to be taken against Musk.
“That is why I am writing to urge each of you to put party politics aside and join me in publicly condemning these remarks,” Davey wrote in the letter, “and to jointly consider what sanctions Elon Musk should face as a consequence.”
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