Musk hits back at UK over reported summit snub and prison policy

ELON Musk criticised Britain on Thursday following reports that he had not been invited to the country's upcoming investment summit.

The US billionaire alleged that the government was prioritising the release of convicted paedophiles while imprisoning individuals for social media posts.

According to the BBC, Musk was reportedly not invited to next month's summit, which focuses on investment, due to his posts on his X platform related to the violent, racist anti-immigration riots that took place in Britain last month.

Musk, in response to a post referencing the BBC report, wrote on X, "I don't think anyone should go to the UK when they're releasing convicted pedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts."

I don’t think anyone should go to the UK when they’re releasing convicted pedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2024

Earlier this month, over 1,700 prisoners were released in an effort by Keir Starmer's Labour government to alleviate prison overcrowding in England and Wales. The scheme excluded individuals serving sentences for sex offences.

Musk, who has nearly 200 million followers on X, faced criticism in August for his posts about Britain, including one where he stated that civil war was "inevitable" amid the country’s anti-immigration riots. These riots involved far-right groups attacking hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques.

At the time, a spokesperson for Keir Starmer said there was "no justification" for such comments. More than 1,000 arrests have been made in connection with the riots, with some individuals jailed for inciting racial hatred on social media.

The upcoming investment summit will feature leaders from major global companies like BNY Mellon and Blackstone. The Labour government, which has been in power since July, is seeking to attract investment to help boost the economy.

Musk previously attended the "Choose France" summit in Paris in May and was last publicly seen in London last November when he participated in the AI Safety Summit and was interviewed by Rishi Sunak.

(With inputs from Reuters)