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A senior government minister has called Elon Musk’s prediction that “violence is coming” to the UK “totally inappropriate”, but defended a London march organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson as “free speech”.
Addressing the march via video on Saturday, Musk urged attendees to “fight back or you die”. Peter Kyle, business secretary, on Sunday denounced the comments as “slightly incomprehensible and totally inappropriate”.
Between 110,000 and 150,000 people are thought to have attended the “Unite the Kingdom” rally, according to the Metropolitan Police. The event, which also saw about 5,000 people take part in a counter-protest organised by Stand Up To Racism, culminated in some violence, with a number of police officers being injured.
Ministers have said that Robinson was tapping into deep-seated public concerns, including on immigration.
Kyle did not denounce the event, instead said it demonstrated that “free speech” was alive and well in Britain. He said Robinson was channelling a “sense of disquiet”.
Tech billionaire Musk has switched his support from Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party to the far-right movement led by Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
Police officers detain a protester during the Tommy Robinson-led ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally © Pol Allingham/PA
Kyle said the “small minority” who had been engaged in violence would be brought to justice. The Metropolitan Police said 26 police officers were injured and 24 people arrested for a range of offences.
The minister’s comments reflected views held by other Labour MPs that many of the people attending the Union Jack-bedecked rally were not racists, but were expressing widely held concerns about the state of the country.
“There are moments that are klaxon calls to us in public life to redouble our efforts to address the big concerns that people right across our country have,” he told the BBC. “Immigration is a big concern.”
Kyle said the government was concerned about divisions emerging in British society and other countries, some of it dating back to the economic stress caused by the 2008 financial crisis.
“There are figures such as Tommy Robinson who are able to touch into a sense of disquiet and grievance in the community and our society,” he said.
Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Matt Twist said: “There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence. They confronted officers, engaging in physical and verbal abuse and making a determined effort to breach cordons in place to keep everyone safe.”
He added: “We are identifying those who were involved in the disorder and they can expect to face robust police action.”