Elon Musk, a prominent figure in social media, has criticised Britain for “releasing convicted paedophiles” into the public domain; nevertheless, Sir Keir Starmer has acknowledged that he would “encourage” Musk’s investment in the UK.
Musk was unable to obtain an invitation to an investment gathering in the UK, with a BBC article attributing his exclusion to his online remarks during the summer’s turmoil.
Amid nationwide rioting, the billionaire disseminated bogus assertions on his social media site, X, alleging that Britain was constructing “detainment camps” in the Falkland Islands for rioters.
He also forecasted that the country will descend into civil war, while persistently criticising the Prime Minister online.
But now, the PM has insisted that he would “encourage investment from anywhere” in response to the BBC report.
Starmer told the broadcaster: “Good investment into the UK is what I’m very, very keen to promote.
“Every time I’m abroad, every time on an international trip, we do these investment breakfasts, because I’m absolutely determined to get the investment that we needed into the economy.
Related video: Keir Starmer responds after Musk tells people to avoid UK following tech summit snub (Dailymotion)
“And I do think we’ve got a real opportunity with a new chapter now,” he added.
In his role as social media magnate, Musk has been the most vocal about UK hate speech laws – and how multiple people were imprisoned for inciting racial hatred online.
As a result, Musk missed out – prompting him to land a blow on Britain in response to a post reading: “UK snubs Elon because he criticised oppression of free speech”.
He wrote on social media: “I don’t think anyone should go to the UK when they’re releasing convicted paedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts!”
It’s not just Musk who has been critical of the snub – former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the BBC it was a “big loss” not to have the Tesla and SpaceX owner at the summit.
“He told me last year he was planning a new car plant in Europe and had not decided where but the UK was a candidate,” Hunt claimed.
Back then, Musk had been extended an invitation by the Tory Government to attend an AI summit and sit with then-PM Rishi Sunak for a fireside talk.
Elsewhere, political pundits have bemoaned the billionaire’s forced no-show.
Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie, who hailed Musk as “the most creative commercial tech entrepreneur of any era”, told GB News that “this country needs Elon Musk a lot more than Elon Musk needs the UK”.
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