Starmer tells Musk to stop intervening in British politics

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that Elon Musk should stop meddling in UK politics after the billionaire used his social media platform X to comment on a murder case that has prompted public anger and protests.

The controversy centres on the killing of 18-year-old Henry Nowak. Nowak was handcuffed by British police while dying from stab wounds last year after his attacker falsely claimed there had been a racist assault. The attacker, identified as a Sikh man, was sentenced on Monday. Video released after the sentencing showed officers disregarding the pleas of the wounded teenager, fuelling outrage and a broader political debate over police treatment of different ethnic groups.

Starmer has said the police face serious questions over the way the case was handled, but he also condemned the violent and disorderly protest held on Tuesday night, calling it unforgivable to use the death to inflame tensions. Speaking to reporters, he directly criticised Musk’s interventions.

"Musk again has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division. That is not who we are in Britain,"

Police and the government have rejected claims that the case reflected bias in policing. Musk had posted on X about the incident, suggesting police were prejudiced against white people and sharing critical posts from other users about the handling of the case.

“The West has created an utterly evil state religion where an accusation of ‘racism’ is the gravest offense that can be committed, even worse than rape or murder!” he wrote in one post on Wednesday.

Nowak’s family met Starmer privately on Thursday. They described the police treatment of the teenager as inhumane and degrading, but had said after the sentencing that his death should not be used to deepen division, hatred or tension.

Musk’s earlier criticism and xAI case

The latest exchange adds to earlier friction between Musk and Starmer. In January 2025, Musk accused Starmer of failing, during his time as chief public prosecutor between 2008 and 2013, to act against gangs of men, mostly of South Asian background, who sexually abused girls. Starmer has defended his record in that role.

Starmer has also backed Labour lawmaker Jess Asato, who is suing Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI. Asato said she filed a High Court claim in London on Wednesday against xAI after its Grok chatbot was used to create fake sexualised images of her, including one showing her in a bikini.

Grok drew global criticism earlier this year for enabling users to generate and circulate sexualised images of women. Researchers said the tool produced an estimated three million such images within days. Asato said she was "just one of the thousands of women and even children who have been the victim of abusive and sexualised AI deepfakes". Starmer had previously criticised Grok over such images, leading X to take steps to comply with British law.