UK accuses Musk of stoking Belfast anti-immigrant unrest
The UK has accused Elon Musk of stoking tensions over his reaction to a knife attack which triggered anti-immigrant riots in Belfast.
Violence erupted in the Northern Irish capital on Tuesday night after a Sudanese asylum seeker allegedly carried out a stabbing attack which left a man blind in his left eye.
Masked gangs attacked homes, torched vehicles, and clashed with police, prompting authorities to urge calm.
A 30-year-old Sudanese man appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder. The incident comes amid an increasingly heated debate over immigration in Britain, fueled by a series of high-profile crimes involving foreign nationals.
Musk, a longtime critic of the UK government, posted on X ahead of the unrest: “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!”
He also shared a post from right-wing activist Tommy Robinson listing dozens of protest locations across the UK.
Labour Party Chair Anna Turley condemned Musk on Wednesday, claiming the billionaire was helping inflame tensions during the unrest.
“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,” she told LBC.
Turley said the tech mogul, commenting from “thousands of miles away,” did not have to live with the consequences of the unrest in Northern Ireland.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined the criticism, warning that those inciting or carrying out the “unacceptable” violence – online or on the streets – would face the full force of the law.
Last week, Starmer said Musk was trying to “whip up division” after the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Henry Nowak.
Musk has made several posts about the case, which has triggered public outrage and protests in Britain, as well as a public apology from the prime minister.
Nowak was fatally stabbed in December by Vickrum Singh Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man, who falsely claimed to police that he had been the victim of a racist attack.
Footage released after Digwa’s sentencing showed officers handcuffing and dragging Nowak despite his repeated pleas that he had been stabbed and could not breathe. He later lost consciousness and died.
Musk was among those to allege that British police had treated Nowak differently because of his ethnicity.
