Elon Musk has abruptly withdrawn his support for Nigel Farage, leader of the UK’s Reform UK party, following a public disagreement over the tech billionaire’s call for the release of jailed far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, Al Jazeera reports.
The reversal comes just days after Musk publicly endorsed Reform UK as the only party that could “save Britain.”
The falling out was sparked by Musk’s false claim that Yaxley-Lennon was imprisoned for “telling the truth” about a child grooming scandal. In reality, Yaxley-Lennon is serving an 18-month sentence for contempt of court after breaching an injunction related to repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee schoolboy he had libeled.
Farage, when questioned about Musk’s support for Yaxley-Lennon, clarified that the activist was jailed for contempt of court, not for speaking out against grooming gangs. This prompted Musk to publicly criticize Farage on Sunday, stating that Reform UK should change its leader.
“Well, this is a surprise! Elon is a remarkable individual but on this I am afraid I disagree,” Farage responded on social media platform X, adding that he would not change his stance.
This dramatic shift comes after Musk had previously expressed his support for Reform UK, founded by Farage as the Brexit Party, and was even reportedly in “open negotiations” with the party regarding potential donations.
Musk, who has become increasingly vocal about his political views, has been weighing in on politics in different countries since supporting Donald Trump. In addition to the Yaxley-Lennon controversy, Musk on Thursday made serious accusations against UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, alleging he failed to bring grooming gangs to justice when he was director of public prosecutions and should face “charges for his complicity in the worst mass crime in the history of Britain.” These comments drew criticism from UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting who described Musk’s views as “misjudged and certainly misinformed.”
The issue of child sexual exploitation has been a source of contention in the UK. A 2014 inquiry found that at least 1,400 children were sexually exploited in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, with authorities repeatedly failing to act. While many victims described their perpetrators as being of South Asian origin, a 2020 Home Office study found that most offenders in group-based child sexual exploitation cases are white.
Musk, who is slated to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency in the incoming Trump administration, has also recently backed the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party, despite its classification by German security services as a suspected extremist organisation.
