Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused Elon Musk of attempting to sow division in the UK and interfering in British politics, marking one of the government’s strongest criticisms yet of the billionaire owner of X.
Starmer’s comments come after weeks of controversial posts by Musk on his social media platform concerning the murder of Henry Nowak. Many of the posts have echoed themes and narratives commonly associated with the far right.
Speaking in Yorkshire ahead of a meeting with mayors from across England, Starmer stressed the importance of standing up for British values, describing the country as one made up of “reasonable and tolerant people.”
The Prime Minister also voiced strong support for Labour MP Jess Asato, who is pursuing legal action against Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. Asato alleges that Grok, the company’s AI chatbot, was used to generate fake sexualised images of her. The incident was part of a wider surge of AI-generated images that spread across X earlier this year.
“Jess Asato is absolutely right to take this action,” Starmer said. “Disgusting images were created in her case through Grok. I am fully behind what she is doing.”
He added that the government had already challenged Grok and other technology platforms over the spread of harmful and sexualised content online, including images involving children.
“I’m pleased we took Grok on a few months ago because that’s the fight we should be having,” Starmer said. “We should be standing up to platform providers that allow this kind of appalling material to circulate. These images are truly disgusting, and we took action because that’s who we are as a country.”
Turning his attention directly to Musk, Starmer accused the billionaire of trying to inflame tensions in Britain.
“We also need to be clear about who we are as a nation,” he said. “Elon Musk has once again been interfering in our politics over the past few days, trying to stir up division. That is not who we are in Britain.”
He continued: “When tragedies happen, such as the death of Henry Nowak, we respond with calm and dignity, just as his family has done. And when harmful content appears online, we challenge it. That’s what Britain stands for.”
Musk has frequently shared content linked to ethnonationalist views and has publicly backed Restore Britain, the far-right political party founded by former Reform UK leader Rupert Lowe.
In recent weeks, Musk has repeatedly argued that the circumstances surrounding Nowak’s death demonstrate what he claims is institutional bias against white people in the UK.
The case remains highly contentious. The police watchdog is investigating the actions of officers who handcuffed 18-year-old Henry Nowak after he had been fatally stabbed by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa. Police were responding to reports after Digwa allegedly claimed he had been racially abused and attacked by Nowak before the stabbing.
Tensions surrounding the case escalated on Tuesday night in Southampton, where a protest linked to Nowak’s death turned violent. Eleven police officers and one police dog were injured after crowds, including individuals described as far-right agitators, clashed with police.
Meanwhile, legal proceedings involving Jess Asato have intensified. In a claim filed at the High Court in London, she alleges that xAI, now a subsidiary of SpaceX and affiliated with X, breached data protection and privacy laws by allowing users to generate explicit and degrading images through prompts given to Grok.
According to Asato, Grok not only created images depicting her in a bikini but also generated a video that appeared to show her being drugged and prepared for sexual assault.
The case is likely to add further scrutiny to the responsibilities of AI companies and social media platforms in preventing the creation and spread of harmful synthetic content online.
