Elon Musk brands ‘the UK a police state’ after care worker was jailed for livestreaming riots_Nhy
Elon Musk today branded the UK ‘a police state’ after a female care worker was jailed for livestreaming a group of masked men making racist comments in the aftermath of a riot.
In his latest barbed comment directed at Britain, the tech billionaire lashed out over the sentencing of 23-year-old Cameron Bell.
She was caged for nine months after admitting a charge of violent disorder, having joined a gang of hooded men and livestreaming them making racist comments on TikTok after a Southport-related riot in Tamworth in August.
Reacting to Bell’s jail term, Musk told his 207million followers on X – the platform formerly known as Twitter which he now owns: ‘The UK has become a police state.’
The post by the mogul – who President-elect Donald Trump announced would lead a new Department of Government Efficiency to ‘dismantle’ the $6.5 trillion bloated US bureaucracy – is the latest outburst by the 53-year-old targeting the UK.
It comes amid a war of words between Musk and the Labour government, with the billionaire recently blasted for his ‘deplorable’ claim that civil war in the UK was ‘inevitable’ in a post commenting on the August riots sparked by the killing of three girls in Southport.
Earlier this month the tech guru, who is the richest man in the world with more than $200billion, took another potshot, this time slamming Labour for its brutal inheritance tax hike.
The close confidant of President-elect Trump wrote on X: ‘We should leave the farmers alone,’ before adding ‘we [owe] farmers immense gratitude for making the food on our tables!’
Elon Musk today declared Britain had become ‘a police state’ after a care worker was jailed for livestreaming a riot
Elon Musk (left) has officially entered the Trump 2.0 administration, as he’ll be leading the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’. Musk is pictured at a Trump rally in October
Musk’s latest comment about Bell’s sentencing has so far been seen by more than 7.1million people.
Bell, 23, was caught on CCTV wearing her work uniform as around 20 people, many armed with planks of wood and what appeared to be lengths of metal, walked through Tamworth town centre in Staffordshire on the night of August 4.
Stafford Crown Court was told she was not present during violence earlier the same day at the town’s Holiday Inn Express, which was set on fire while housing asylum seekers.
Judge John Edwards was shown CCTV and TikTok videos on Tuesday, the latter filmed by Bell after she left work and saw the armed group as she walked home.
Others could be heard making racist remarks on the TikTok footage, while Bell, of Tamworth, was heard to swear while referring to asylum seekers as ‘tramps’.
Bell, who admitted violent disorder in September and has been in custody since being arrested, appeared to be on the verge of tears in the dock as her lawyer, Stephen Rudge, told the court she was ‘on the periphery’ of a group which had not confronted anyone.
Mr Rudge said: ‘Her involvement is to upload the TikTok footage that was not encouraging anyone to join in or extend the violence that had been seen earlier on.’
Cameron Bell, 23, was jailed for livestreaming a group of people making racist comments during a Southport-related riot
Much of the TikTok stream had been rather amateurish, Mr Rudge argued, giving viewers a view of the ‘cobblestones in Tamworth’ and showing no acts of violence.
Urging Judge Edwards to pass a suspended prison sentence including community work, Mr Rudge said: ‘This lady has not demonstrated an overtly racist attitude.’
Passing sentence, the judge told Bell that members of the group – which was caught on CCTV near to a statue of Sir Robert Peel – were armed and plainly intent on further violence.
The judge said: ‘In early August a series of disturbances erupted across this country following a tragic incident in late July when three young girls were fatally stabbed at a dance class in Southport.
‘The violence was fuelled by misinformation and misplaced far-right sentiment. It spread to various towns and cities across the nation including, as we know, Tamworth.
‘A hotel in Tamworth housing asylum seekers was targeted, with significant damage being caused and injuries sustained.’
Bell was someone who, through weight of numbers, had pursued an unlawful purpose, the judge said, adding that she had been among a group of about 20 people believed to be heading towards a different hotel in the town.
‘This is your first foray into the criminal justice system,’ the judge said. ‘You have lost your job as a carer.’
Acknowledging that Bell’s involvement was at about 10.30pm – ‘after the worst was over’ – the judge said her comments on the livestream were unacceptable and abhorrent and had the ‘potential to fan the flames’.
Rejecting calls for a suspended sentence, the judge concluded: ‘Anyone involved in violent disorder must command immediate custody, with the need for deterrence being acute.’
