Keir Starmer must slap Elon Musk down - before someone gets killed

Elon Musk is out of control and a danger to British society.

Today, on his social media platform X, he labelled Jess Phillips, the government minister in charge of safeguarding and violence against women and girls, a “rape genocide apologist.”

The context for this bizarre, unhinged slur against Phillips is laid out in this excellent analysis from my colleague James Ball.

Musk’s obsession with sparking a culture war in the UK has been evident for some time, but this particular tweet, and the grossly inciteful language, crosses a line. It demands a response from every one of Phillips’s colleagues, and certainly the prime minister himself.

A response which at the time of writing – nearly four hours since the accusation was levelled – is sadly absent.

Musk is no longer just the eccentric mogul behind Tesla, SpaceX and X. He is the right-hand man to the incoming president of the United States. His views on the future policies of MAGA have already been seen to shape Donald Trump’s own – most recently over immigration visas.

His voice is not that of a private individual, but that of a central player of the new Trump administration.

For a foreign government to so brazenly attack a member of the United Kingdom government without rebuke is without precedent in our democracy.

It cannot be allowed to stand.

Behind-the-scenes diplomacy that will no doubt be underway to get Trump to yank the choke chain on Musk is not enough.

Jess Phillips deserves better. She deserves the public support of her boss at Number 10 in the face of this deranged, dangerous assault against both her and the truth.

To allow this to stand without a damning rebuke speaks volumes about the character of this country’s leadership. Too often have we seen this kind of hateful language on social media leading to physical assaults – and worse – by those who swallow the lie and decide in their deranged thinking that something must be done about it.

This is a real test of Keir Starmer. We wait to see if he will rise to it.

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