A SLEW of online attacks targeting UK politicians from billionaire Elon Musk has steered the direction of British politics in Westminster’s first week back this year.
Musk’s attacks are part of a recent pattern of interventions in politics across Europe, but his focus on the UK has been notably personal as he described the Prime Minister as “complicit in the rape of Britain” and Home Office minister Jess Phillips as a “rape genocide apologist”.
The UK Government has hit back hard at Musk’s behaviour, accusing him of crossing a line and spreading misinformation.
The owner of social media site Twitter/X put child sexual exploitation at the top of the agenda and laid blame at Labour's door after he saw a post from Sam Bidwell, director of the Adam Smith Institute think-tank and a GB News contributor, who listed the 20 British communities that had been impacted by "migrant sex abuse gangs".
Musk has gone on to post about the issue for nine days, including the revelation that Phillips declined a request for a nationally-led inquiry into grooming gangs.
The Tories have now joined his calls for a national inquiry, despite being in power when much of the detail of the scandal became known.
So why is Musk using his platform to spiral this issue, and is this the new normal?
Musk himself has said that since his mother is from Liverpool, she could have been one of the victims.
However, Dr Huw Davier, a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh who has researched the interaction between political groups in the US and the UK via Twitter, told The National that Musk is “taking up Tommy Robinson's cause”.
Robinson was most recently sentenced to 18 months in prison in October after the Solicitor General took legal action against him for breaching a High Court injunction made in 2021. He admitted 10 breaches of the order, which barred him from repeating libellous allegations against a Syrian refugee.
“[Musk] thrives on the disruption, the impact that he has through his platform,” Davies said.
Davies described Musk’s posts and narrative as regressive libertarianism — the freedom to say things that are upsetting to other people and not suffer the consequences.
Davies added: “They don't want any pushback, any criticism, or they don't want something banned, and someone like Elon Musk can say and do what they want, but out of the consequences because he's not democratically accountable to anyone.
“He owns the platform, so no one can censor him, and he leads by example in that regard.”
Musk has progressively become part of the far-right online movement over the last few years, with this latest episode a culmination of content and interactions with leading extremist figures.
“He’s been interacting with figures on the far-right like Tommy Robinson, who has been talking about grooming gangs for about 13 years now,” Davies explained.
He added: “It used to be a topic that BNP [British National Party] and the EDL [English Defence League] really used to campaign on, especially locally as well it offered them a moral cause and a way of racialising child abuse. It made them look like that they were the saviours”.
Scotland has seen other extremist groups use this tactic, hopping on local issues to radicalise a local community.
Davies explained that if the media isn’t heavily reporting on an issue, such as grooming gangs, the radical right and far-right exploit it.
Musk started his interactions with Robinson during the riots in England and Ireland, tweeting and following the radical before he was charged with contempt of court for, “ironically”, Davies notes, almost collapsing the Huddersfield sex abuse ring trial in 2018.
The billionaire has called for Robinson's release.
“Elon Musk took up Tommy Robinson's cause and started talking about grooming gangs, that's where all that came from is sort of interactions with the British far right.
“He was spreading memes that Tommy Robinson was spreading, and the grooming became another meme that he could use.”
Musk previously waded into Scottish politics by contesting a summary of the Hate Crime Act which said it would lead to people being “arrested” if they shared a “spicy meme” or mocked transgender people.
Musk’s interventions may be the new normal after he sees his rhetoric has caused the Tories to bring forward an amendment to the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
The amendment will be heard today and is expected to call for ministers to establish a “national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs”.
It is highly unlikely to be backed by a majority in the Commons, with the Government already seeking to roll out the recommendations of the inquiry led by Professor Alexis Jay.
The non-binding amendment also calls for the Commons to halt the progress of the Bill, which includes measures aimed at bolstering safeguarding The Conservatives will not be expecting a significant Labour revolt on the issue, but rejection of the amendment provides an opportunity for the Opposition to accuse the Government of refusing further wholesale examination of child abuse.
Keir Starmer described the tabling of the amendment as a “shocking tactic”, accusing the Tories of prioritising “the desire for retweets over any real interest in the safeguarding of children”.
