Sir Keir Starmer has once again entered into a war of words with X boss Elon Musk, after the US billionaire claimed people shouldn’t go to the UK.
Elon Musk (Image: Getty)
Mr Musk said that people should avoid visiting Britain because Sir Keir is “releasing paedophiles to imprison people for social media posts”.
The furious accusation came after months of tweets criticising the Prime Minister as “two-tier Keir” during the summer racism riots.
Reacting to the claim, Sir Keir dismissed the allegation, arguing: “What he said is in stark contrast to the very strong view around the breakfast table this morning.”
The Prime Minister held a business roundtable breakfast meeting in New York on Thursday morning, as he aims to drum up investment into the UK.
He continued: “They described this morning’s meeting with the UK as the best of the meetings they’ve had this week at UNGA.
“That’s their words, not mine, that there’s really strong window of opportunity now with the UK, given the changes we’ve brought about, our number one mission on economic growth and to talk them through.”
Turning to Mr Musk specifically he said he would welcome investment into the UK by any of his businesses, despite the pair’s dire relationship.
The PM added: “Obviously, I encourage investment from anywhere, and so I don’t want to be misunderstood on this.
“So good investment into the UK is what I’m very, very keen to promote.
“It’s why I have this business. We had one here. But 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 need into the economy.”
The Prime Minister is hosting an investment summit in October, which he hopes will attract billions of pounds in inward funding for business.
However Mr Musk will not be present, having not been invited by the Government.
His claim that people shouldn’t visit the UK due to Sir Keir’s early release policy was sparked in response to him discovering the snub.
Yesterday the BBC reported that he was explicitly not invited by the Government because of his social media posts.
Mr Musk was invited to last year’s summit, but did not attend.
It is understood that a representative from Mr Musk’s company SpaceX has been invited, however.
The row is yet another blow to Mr Musk’s relationship with the UK government, which has worsened considerably since he was interviewed by Rishi Sunak in a fireside chat.
During the summer, Mr Musk claimed that “civil war is inevitable” following the breakdown in law and order.
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Attendance at Conservative party conference surges by 20% as leadership race heats up
Tory leadership contenders battle it out in Birmingham (Image: Getty)
Attendance is up by 20% at the Conservative party conference as members turn up to watch leadership contenders battle it out for the top job.
An extra 1,500 Tories have signed up for the so-called beauty parade to replace Rishi Sunak.
Leadership frontrunner Robert Jenrick was given a boost when former MP Tom Hunt, who backed Kemi Badenoch two years ago, endorsed him instead.
Mr Hunt said: “There is one candidate who stands out in a positive way when it comes to the credibility question: Robert Jenrick.”
Ahead of the conference in Birmingham on Sunday, Mr Jenrick insisted he was the candidate to bring the change the country needs.
He said: “We have just suffered our worst electoral defeat in centuries and we now stand at a crossroads. We can double down or a failed status quo, or we can listen to the country, change and begin to rebuild trust.
“I am standing to change our party by empowering members and change our offer to the public by providing the serious solutions to the big challenges facing the country.”
Rival James Cleverly said the party must unite and warned “we don’t have a second to waste”.
He added: “I want us to get behind our Conservative values, re-earn the right to be listened to and win back voters that we lost to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform – as well as those that chose to stay at home.
“Within just weeks, the Labour Party have shown themselves to be completely out of touch with the British public.
“I can’t wait to get out there and show people why they should choose me as Leader.”
Tom Tugendhat promised he would lead with conviction and deliver a conservative vision.
“Labour has brought nothing but chaos and cronyism to government, serving only their union paymasters instead of the British people. We must give Britain the leadership it deserves.
“Conference gives us a chance to reset and engage with those who truly drive our Party forward – the hardworking members and activists. I look forward to meeting many of them at Conference and making it clear that if we make the right choice, we can defeat Keir Starmer and return to power in just five years time.”
A source in Kemi Badenoch’s campaign said she had been received an “amazing reception” while touring the country for the past few months.
The insider added: “This conference is a chance to show MPs she is the members’ choice – the one with the star quality to cut through as a leader of the Opposition and take the fight to Labour.
“She has the most shadow cabinet members backing her and all her former junior ministers at Business and Trade, showing she brings people together to form a top team. This conference will show that she is best placed to unite, renew and embolden the party to take on this floundering government.”
