Elon Musk Condemned For Trying To 'Whip Up Unrest' In UK After Belfast Knife Attack – HuffPost UK
The X owner shared lists of where protests could take place.
Political Editor
Elon Musk has been accused of trying to “whip up unrest” in the UK in the wake of the Belfast knife attack.
A 30-year-old Sudanese man who was granted a five-year visa to remain the in UK in 2023 has been charged with attempted murder and is due to appear in court later today.
Violence erupted on the streets of Belfast on Tuesday night, while immigrant families were burned out of their homes.
Politicians have condemned the “outright thuggery” and appealed for calm.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said: “The scenes in Belfast last night were shocking and completely unacceptable.
“There is no justification for the violence and disorder that we saw threatening our communities, nor for those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere.
“It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it. Those responsible will feel the full force of the law.”
Musk shared lists on X of locations where protests could take place and retweeted Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe’s post saying “Millions must go” with a screengrab of footage of the knife attack.
On LBC this morning, presenter Nick Ferrari asked Labour chairwoman Anna Turley what she thought of Musk trying to “whip up unrest in this country”.
She said: “I think it’s appalling. Anyone that is seeking to drive and exploit a situation like this to drive their own political agenda is grievously wrong and doing damage.
“He’s not someone who’s having to live in a community where the consequences of this, of the anger that is whipped up.
“You know, we’ve seen children, families having to flee their homes on the streets of Belfast last night, we do not want to see this kind of disruption, damage, thuggery, violence on our streets, and anyone that is seeking to whip that up should be condemned.”
On Times Radio, Turley said: “I think we have to acknowledge and see that social media is playing a role in driving this. And I think there are bad faith actors who are sitting, often many, many miles away. It’s easy for them to stoke these things up.”
Asked if she was referring to Musk, she said: “He’s not living in the kind of communities where we’re seeing this kind of activity. He’s not at risk.
“It’s mums and families and people living in those homes in Belfast and on the streets of Britain who are at risk.
“He has a responsibility – everyone in public and civil life has a responsibility to call for calm and not to stoke grievance or hatred or division or tension that puts vulnerable people and our communities at risk.”
The prime minister last week accused Musk of “trying to whip up division” over the murder of Henry Nowak.
The 18-year-old was killed by British-born Sikh Vickrum Digwa, who had falsely accused Henry of racism following the attack.
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