Elon Musk calls for Tommy Robinson to be released from prison
ITV News' Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana looks at Musk's latest comments on the UK justice system and the government.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has called for far-right activist Tommy Robinson to be released from jail.
The Tesla founder and X owner posted a series of comments on his platform in which he defended Robinson, writing "free Tommy".
Musk also described a controversial documentary by the English Defence League co-founder as "worth watching".
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed in October for 18 months after he admitted repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee, in breach of an injunction. Robinson admitted ten breaches of a High Court order made in 2021.
Musk's latest outburst is one of a number of comments he has made on the UK government and justice system.
In the midst of his series of posts about Robinson, Musk also said "a new election should be called in Britain", sharing a post about Keir Starmer's low approval ratings in polls.
In November the billionaire branded the UK a "tyrannical police state", sharing a petition calling for a fresh general election in the UK.
Musk's attacks on the UK government began in the summer after a knife attack in Southport left three girls dead, when he shared misinformation about the government's response to the subsequent riots and accused Starmer of overseeing a "two-tier" justice system.
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Musk also took aim at the prime minister and his government in his latest outburst, accusing them of failing to prosecute grooming gangs in Oldham.
The billionaire said Home Office minister Jess Phillips "deserves to be in prison" following reports she denied requests from Oldham Council to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation saying it is "for Oldham Council alone to decide to commission an inquiry."
Musk also suggested Starmer himself had not done enough to tackle rape gangs in Rochdale and Oldham when he was Director of Public Prosecutions.
Starmer was responsible for leading the prosecutions of the Rochdale grooming gang in 2013, and was behind reforms to how the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) deals with child sex abuse cases.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also waded in on the debate, calling for a "full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal" in a post on X.
"Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots", she wrote.
Musk has made his opposition to the Labour government clear, instead aligning himself with Nigel Farage's Reform UK party and calling on British people to vote for them.
The Reform Party has sought to distance themselves from figures like Tommy Robinson - Farage quit his UK Independent Party (UKIP) because its leadership became "obsessed with this figure Tommy Robinson".
Farage recently rejected suggestions he is like "Tommy Robinson in a suit" in the wake of the Southport attacks.
Musk has become increasingly involved in politics in recent months, even being given a role in the next US government by President-elect Donald Trump.
He will lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency", advising the White House from outside government to cut government waste.
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