US tech billionaire says Tommy Robinson, who is serving 18 months in prison, 'should be freed'.
Elon Musk has called for jailed British right-wing activist Tommy Robinson to be released and criticized UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer for his response to a grooming ceremony when he became chief prosecutor a decade ago.
In a series of social media posts on Thursday, the US tech billionaire said Robinson, who founded the far-right English Defense League and whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, “must be freed”.
“Why is Tommy Robinson in solitary confinement for telling the truth?” Musk posted on X, the social network he owns, on Thursday.
He wrote: “He should be released and those who covered up this bad behavior should enter the room.”
RobinsonA one-time convicted felon in the UK has been jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to contempt of court in a long-running case involving a Syrian refugee.
Musk has also sent a series of messages about the scandal that took place over the years in English towns and cities including Rochdale, Rotherham and Oldham until it came to light more than a decade ago.
Musk shared comments from various other accounts about the scandal and criticized Starmer's response to the scandal.
“In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the consent of the Crown Prosecution Service for police to charge suspects. Who was the head of CPS when gangs were allowed to exploit girls without justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013,” he wrote, criticizing the British prime minister.
Starmer was head of the CPS at the time and began prosecuting gangs in Rochdale in his last year in office, shortly after the infamous incident. None of the investigations into the abuse found Starmer guilty or found that he was trying to prevent prosecution.
In 2012, Mr Starmer criticized the criminal justice system's approach to sexual assault and ordered a complete overhaul of the CPS's response to the issue.
Musk's tweets about Robinson drew support from the far-right, including Dutch politician Geert Wilders, and some right-wing YouTube channels also called for his release.
The US billionaire's latest intervention in UK politics comes after his recent announcement of help of Germany's far-right AfD party, where he said the AfD is the only party that can save Germany as the country heads to elections next month.
The German government has accused him of tampering with the vote.
Musk has also publicly supported other far-right figures in Europe including Nigel Farage of the UK Reform Party and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Musk was also a financial backer and campaign supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump. Last month, Trump denied claims that he had “handed the leadership” over to Musk.