LONDON (AP) 鈥 Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced calls Monday to sanction Elon Musk after the X and Tesla owner told an anti-immigration rally that violence is coming to Britain and they must fight or die.
Starmer denounced violence on the fringes of Saturday鈥檚 100,000 or more-strong 鈥淯nite the Kingdom鈥 demonstration in London organized by far-right campaigner .
Police said 26 officers were injured, four seriously, as protesters tried to breach lines separating them from a smaller anti-racist counter-demonstration. There were 25 people arrested at the event and the Metropolitan Police said more arrests would follow.
Addressing the demonstration by video link, Musk called for the dissolution of Parliament, an early election and a change of government in Britain. He told protesters 鈥渧iolence is coming to you鈥 and 鈥測ou either fight back or you die.鈥
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest party in Britain鈥檚 Parliament, urged Starmer and Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch to join him in condemning Musk鈥檚 attempt 鈥渢o sow discord and incite violence on our streets鈥 and interfere with British democracy.
They should 鈥渃onsider what sanctions Elon Musk should face as a consequence,” Davey said.
Equalities Minister Jacqui Smith said Musk鈥檚 remarks 鈥渨ere wrong and they were dangerous.鈥 Business Secretary Peter Kyle called the comments鈥渟lightly incomprehensible鈥 and 鈥渢otally inappropriate,” but said the demonstration showed free speech was alive and well.
Starmer has not commented directly on Musk鈥檚 comments. He wrote on X that peaceful protest 鈥渋s core to our country鈥檚 values. 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 color of their skin.”
This is not the first time Musk, an erstwhile ally of President Donald Trump, has supported hard-right and far-right figures in Europe, including Robinson, a convicted fraudster and founder of the anti-Islam English Defense League whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and the party, or AfD.
Musk also is a critic of attempts by the U.K. and other European governments to clamp down on harmful online content, something he argues restricts free speech.
Saturday鈥檚 demonstration follows growing political concern about unauthorized immigration, especially the arrival of migrants across . More than 30,000 people have made the dangerous crossing from France so far this year despite from Britain, France and other countries to crack down on the people-smuggling gangs behind the trips.
The use of hotels to accommodate asylum-seekers has become a major political issued in Britain, sparking over the summer, some of which turned violent.
Saturday’s demonstration, one of the largest nationalist protests in Britain for decades, turned central London into a sea of flags, both the Union Jack of the U.K. and England鈥檚 red and white St. George flag.
In recent weeks, the flags have proliferated around the country as part of a seemingly grassroots fly-the-flag campaign. Red crosses have also been painted on buildings in what some see as an intimidating gesture aimed at ethnic minorities.
Starmer wrote on X that 鈥淏ritain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division.鈥
