It was not the start to 2025 that Keir Starmer wanted or expected: in the early hours of New Year’s Day, Elon Musk lobbed a series of angry posts and allegations towards the British prime minister, engulfing his government in a very public fight. In the days since, the world’s richest man has dredged up a painful, years-long scandal over grooming gangs and pushed for the release of Tommy Robinson, an imprisoned far-right agitator with a swelling social media following. The tech billionaire, who played a prominent role in US President-elect Donald Trump’s election campaign, has posted or reposted on X about child sex abuse cases in the UK more than 50 times this week. He has called for Starmer and his safeguarding minister to be removed from power, for new elections to take place, and even for King Charles III to unilaterally dissolve parliament – something which hasn’t happened…
