Elon Musk has triggered anger by calling for British far-right activist Tommy Robinson’s release and accusing PM Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute child rapists in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The billionaire ally of US president elect Donald Trump posted on X saying “Free Tommy Robinson!”, tagging the British far-right activist.  Tommy Robinson is serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court. Apart from a number of messages in support of Robinson, Musk posted many times about rape gangs in Rochdale and Oldham attacking the PM and the safeguarding minister (Jess Phillips) over their responses to the scandal.

In one post the tech magnate said: “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service’s approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013.” Starmer was actually the head of the CPS in that period and he started a prosecution of a grooming gang in Rochdale during his last year in the role, shortly after the scandal emerged. None of the investigations into the scandals singled Keir Starmer out for blame or found that he attempted to block prosecutions. In 2012, Starmer had blamed the justice system’s faulty approach to sexual exploitation and had ordered a comprehensive restructuring of the CPS’s responses to it.

Musk called for jailing of safeguarding minister Jess Phillips via another post. He said in the post, “She deserves to be in prison”. This was after Jess Phillips said it was the responsibility of Oldham council to call an inquiry into child exploitation there, rather than the national government. In another post he said: “Who is the boss of Jess Phillips right now? Keir Stamer. The real reason she’s refusing to investigate the rape gangs is that it would obviously lead to the blaming of Keir Stamer (head of the CPS at the time).”

US tech magnate’s latest intervention in British politics has triggered anger among Labour MPs, many of whom have been pressuring the government to stop posting on X. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO and X owner has repeatedly attacked PM Keir Starmer over his response to the UK riots last summer. He is reported to be contemplating donating as much as $100m (£80m) to Reform UK, and was photographed alongside the party’s leader, Nigel Farage, and its treasurer, Nick Candy, two weeks back.

Musk’s posts overnight are perhaps his most explicit endorsement so far of the British far right and come after he vowed to support the German anti-migration party Alternative für Deutschland. One MP said: “[Musk] has pushed it too far this time. Twitter [now X] is really rapidly becoming a cess pit, even for disinterested non-partisan types.” Many ministers said they believed this should be the trigger for the government to exit Musk’s platform. Others, however, cautioned that doing so could cause a diplomatic incident given tech magnate’s role in the incoming Trump administration.