Starmer accuses Musk of trying to ‘whip up division’ in UK over Henry Nowak murder | Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer has said Elon Musk is “meddling in our politics” and trying to create division by significantly toughening the government’s language about the owner of X.

This statement comes after Musk shared weeks of posts on the social media platform about the murder of Henry Nowak, many of which used far-right themes and talking points.

Starmer was due to meet Nowak’s family in Downing Street later on Thursday to discuss the response to the actions of Hampshire police, who arrested the young student as he lay dying from stab wounds following a false accusation of racial abuse by the killer.

Speaking in Yorkshire, where he will meet with mayors from British regions, Starmer said England must “reveal who we are” as “reasonable, tolerant people”.

He praised Labor MP Jess Asato, who took legal action against Musk’s xAI company after she said the Grok tool helped a user produce fake sexualized images of her, part of a wave of images that flooded X earlier this year.

“Jess Asato was absolutely justified in the action she took. Disgusting images were created, particularly those created by Grok,” Starmer said, warning Musk’s company it would face serious regulatory action if it did not stop the flow of sexualized images, some of which included children.

Starmer said: “I’m really glad we took on Grok a few months ago because that’s the fight we have to fight, taking on some of these platform providers. [and] Some of these disgusting images are truly disgusting. We won this.

“But Jess is right, he is a parliamentarian. I stand behind his action 100 percent.”

“We also need to establish who we are as a country because Musk has been intervening in our politics again over the last few days, trying to foment division. That’s not who we are in Britain.”

“In England we are reasonable and tolerant people. When faced with a terrible case like Henry’s, we react calmly, just as Henry Nowak’s family did.

“When it comes to the disgusting images in Grok, we take on Grok and fight because that is who we are as a country.”

Musk is a regular poster of ethno-nationalist content and is a strong supporter of Restore Britain, the far-right party founded by former Reform UK leader Rupert Lowe.

Speaking later, Starmer’s spokesman did not identify any posts by Musk that raised concerns. This appears to be based more on the general tone of its content, particularly the Nowak case.

In recent weeks, Musk has repeatedly argued that the case of Nowak, who was arrested by police as she lay dying from stab wounds inflicted by Vickrum Digwa, showed that Britain was biased against whites.

Multiple posts by other users on X incorrectly identified two Hampshire officers, one of whom had left the force, as being involved in Nowak’s arrest, forcing the former officer into hiding.

Starmer’s spokesman said such misinformation was a matter for media regulator Ofcom. He said neither the prime minister nor the government had any plans to stop posting on X.

Starmer was due to meet Nowak’s family for what was described as a private meeting. This came after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch met Nowak’s mother, father and stepmother.

Badenoch wrote: “Henry’s family does not want anger to tear communities apart. They are a family with friends across faith and race, and so does Henry. His family wants his memory to help bring our community together.”

The police watchdog is examining the actions of officers who handcuffed 18-year-old Nowak after he was fatally stabbed by 23-year-old Digwa. They had attended the scene in Southampton after Digwa falsely claimed he had been racially abused and assaulted by Nowak.

On Tuesday night, 11 police officers and a police dog were injured after a crowd, including far-right agitators, attacked officers in Southampton to protest Nowak’s death and her treatment by police.

Meanwhile, in a claim filed at the high court in London, Asato said xAI, a subsidiary of SpaceX, which now owns X, had violated laws on data protection and misuse of private information by allowing site users to direct Grok to create such images.

Asato said that in addition to photos of Grok in a bikini, he also created a video “showing her being exposed to chloroform and preparing for a sexual assault.”