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A UK minister advises Elon Musk to "focus on his own affairs" following comments about the London rally

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A UK minister advises Elon Musk to "focus on his own affairs" following comments about the London rally
A UK minister advises Elon Musk to "focus on his own affairs" following comments about the London rally

Elon Musk has been told to "mind his own business" by a Home Office minister after the tech billionaire made a string of comments criticizing the UK.

Last month the Tesla boss appeared at a rally in central London led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, where he called for urgent change in government.

Musk also warned "violence is coming" and criticized "uncontrolled immigration" while addressing the crowd via video-link.

He told protestors: "Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die."

He also called for a dissolution of parliament and claimed that "the left are the party of murder."

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Downing Street hit back at the time, labeling the comments as "dangerous and inflammatory," while Home Office minister Lord Hanson of Flint told peers on Tuesday he felt it was "borderline incitement of violence."

The minister told the House of Lords: "Personally, I just ignore it. We had an election, we’ve had 400-plus Labour Members of Parliament elected.

"I stand here because the people of Great Britain have chosen a Labour Government. We have a duty to deliver what we can.

"The people of Great Britain will choose the next government in maybe three-and-a-half or four years’ time, not some billionaire foreigner.

"So I would suggest he buys a book on the British constitution out of his money, he reads it, he understands how it works, and he minds his own business."

Musk appeared via video-link at the rally which was led by Tommy Robinson.

Lord Hanson added: "I would certainly welcome much silence from Mr. Musk. But again, I’ll defend his right to have his opinion, I just don’t agree with it.

"And also, I don’t think actually it’s really for somebody in his position to align himself with individuals who are trying to destroy much of the fabric of British society by their comments, and also I don’t think it’s appropriate for him to express his views via some new-fangled machinery down the line to the United Kingdom.

"We are a democracy, we know what we’re doing, members opposite disagree with us, but all people in this society have a chance to judge the Government and they did vote for the Government less than 15 or 16 months ago."

More than 100,000 attended the Unite The Kingdom Rally on September 13, which saw 23 people arrested and 26 police officers injured, including four who were seriously hurt.

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More than 150 reports of anti-Muslim hate were made to the Tell Mama charity monitoring the issue in the seven days following the march.

Lord Hanson told peers: "Elon Musk’s remarks were wrong. The people who stepped over the line in that demonstration and in fact injured police officers were wrong.

"And the incitement to that, which Mr. Musk was on the border of doing, is absolutely wrong.

"But ultimately, in the event of any action taken against him, it is for the police independently to make a judgment on those issues in the event that Mr. Musk visits this country."

Asked about the protection of Muslim women and girls from hate crime, Lord Hanson said: "The Government cares about the safety of all women.

"That is why we’re putting in place a strategy to tackle violence against women and girls over the next ten years.

"That strategy will be produced very shortly and I know (Baroness Gohir) has made representations to me and others about what that strategy should contain.

"It’s absolutely important that we defend people’s right to live their life in peace without interference, and I include interference in this case from Elon Musk, who has no mandate in this country, no interest in this country’s future and should, quite frankly, stay in the States and count his cash."

Sophie Walker

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