Keir Starmer set for Trump ‘showdown’ as free speech champion lashes out at ‘draconian censorship’ of Musk
The Free Speech Union’s Toby Young has warned that the Home Office’s probe into Elon Musk’s social media posts could trigger a diplomatic clash with the United States.
Speaking on GB News to Tom Harwood and Emily Carver, Young questioned why a taxpayer-funded government unit was monitoring the tech billionaire’s posts on X.
“If the British Government does try and restrict what we can see and in particular bans Musk’s tweets, that could have huge diplomatic ramifications,” Young cautioned.
The warning comes as reports emerge that the Home Office’s counter-extremism unit has intensified its scrutiny of Musk’s social media activity.
The Home Office unit has stepped up monitoring of Musk’s posts to analyse potential risks to Britain, according to government sources speaking to The Mirror.
The increased scrutiny follows Musk’s series of attacks on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and senior ministers over Labour’s rejection of a new national inquiry into grooming gangs.
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Musk notably targeted Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips, labelling her a “rape genocide apologist” after she denied Oldham Council’s request for a Whitehall-led inquiry.
The controversy has led to serious safety concerns, with police charging a man from Devon for sending malicious communications to Phillips.
The minister has reportedly been assigned close protection officers and advised against going out alone.
Young drew parallels with recent events in Brazil, suggesting the UK government might be preparing to order removal of Musk’s tweets on “national security grounds”.
“It may mean the Government is gearing up to do what happened in Brazil which was effectively order the internet regulator to remove some of Elon Musk’s tweets from X,” he told GB News.
The warning comes as Donald Trump prepares to take office, with Young noting that Musk “will soon have a job in the Trump administration”.
Trump, who assumes the presidency in less than two weeks, “has made quite an issue of free speech”, Young added.
Young warned that any British attempts to restrict Musk’s tweets could severely impact UK-US relations.
“It could jeopardise any possibility of a UK-US trade deal,” he told GB News.
The Free Speech Union director suggested the US might even impose sanctions on Britain for “breaching a fundamental human right”.
His comments follow reports in the Financial Times that Musk has held private talks with allies about ways to oust Sir Keir Starmer as PM before the next election.
John Woodcock, the Government’s adviser on political violence, responded that “Britain’s democracy isn’t a plaything for foreign billionaires” and urged Musk to “back off”.