Downing Street has fiercely condemned Elon Musk for using “dangerous and inflammatory” language, after he told a crowd of protesters in London that “violence is coming” and “you either fight back or you die”.
Musk, the owner of X, opted to appear at the rally that left 26 police officers injured on Saturday, via a video link. He spoke to the activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, while thousands watched and listened.
Keir Starmer has been under pressure from his own MPs and anti-fascist groups to be more proactive in defence of diversity and speak up against some of the rhetoric used during what is thought to have been the largest nationalist event in decades.
Police estimate that between 110,000 and 150,000 people attended the event, organised by Robinson. At least 25 people were arrested and police faced a barrage of physical and verbal abuse from demonstrators who sought to breach cordons.
A day after Starmer decided to make his first major intervention after the mass far-right protests to condemn the intimidation of minorities and growing disquiet, No 10 went further.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “The UK is a fair, tolerant and decent country.
“The last thing the British people want is this sort of dangerous and inflammatory language.” He said it threatened “violence and intimidation on our streets”, adding: “I don’t think the British public will have any truck with that kind of language.”
It is not the first time US-based Musk has waded into British politics. He has previously used his X account to attack Starmer’s government over grooming gangs in the UK.
Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, said it was “horrendous” that 26 police officers were left injured, adding: “There is no defence of some the violence used on Saturday. I feared something like that would happen. But I repeat the vast majority of people that turned up were good, ordinary, decent people.”
When asked about Musk’s comments, Farage said it would be good to have some explanation from the billionaire as to what he meant by “fight”.
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, said he was distressed by conversations in his Ilford North constituency over the weekend, stressing the urgency of standing up to far-right hatred and said many were “questioning whether this country is safe”.
Streeting posted the video on Instagram, saying local residents had shared how intimidated they had felt by the demonstration. “This community and our country is now their home,” he said. “To talk to people who are thinking about moving, questioning whether this country is safe, this flag behind me … belongs to all of us, not just some of us.
“I think it’s really important that we all stand together as a community against prejudice, against discrimination, and celebrate and share in what we have in common as proud Brits, people who love this country, love its diversity and think it’s its strength.”
Starmer responded on Sunday lunchtime, saying there would be “no surrender” of the St George’s flag which he said “represents our diverse country” and that he would not tolerate people being “intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin”.
Over the weekend, Labour MPs issued a string of warnings about Starmer and the government’s response to the moment and the threat of the far right. Many were prompted by the chaos over the sacking of the British ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, over newly revealed links to the paedophile Jeffery Epstein, though several said that was a symptom of a wider problem.
Rosena Allin-Khan, the former shadow cabinet minister, and Helen Hayes, the education select committee chair, both said they believed Starmer had until the crucial May elections to prove he could fight back.
Hayes told the BBC’s Westminster Hour: “We have really important elections in May … If those elections don’t go well then that will be the time to ask questions … Questions about the nature of the leadership and whether things can continue as they are, but we’re not at that point now.
“If we fail to tell a story about the nature of our country, the diversity and cohesion in our communities, and if we fail to give people a real sense of positive change and that they are part of that positive change it’s not good enough.”
Several other MPs also went public with anger over the weekend. MP Clive Lewis, a backer of Andy Burnham’s Mainstream movement, said there was “a very, very dangerous atmosphere” among Labour MPs. “People are concerned, slightly downtrodden, a little bit browbeaten and feeling as if the party has seen better days,” he told the BBC.
Paula Barker, the left-wing MP who stood to be deputy leader, said there needed to be “significant changes … because we are failing our country.”
The veteran MP Graham Stringer said Starmer’s approach had been too managerial. “He treats politics as though it’s a management issue. He gives instructions and expects them to be carried out,” he told the Manchester Evening News. “He doesn’t seem to understand the importance of a crisis. You have to make decisions quickly. He has got to improve his game.”
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, has challenged the prime minister to speak out further about Musk’s comments to Saturday’s rally.
Davey said Farage and the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, should also condemn the billionaire. Musk’s attempts at the weekend to sow discord and incite violence on Britain’s streets represent a serious and dangerous interference to democracy, he added.
“The recent conduct of Elon Musk – deliberately spreading misinformation, stoking anger and encouraging violence – represents a reckless and dangerous assault on those values. This attempt to endanger public safety and meddle in our politics must be met with clarity and resolve.
“Put party politics aside and join me in publicly condemning these dangerous remarks, and to jointly consider what sanctions Elon Musk should face as a consequence.”