British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned “lies and misinformation” undermining British democracy and his record following continued attacks by Elon Musk.
Mr Starmer was asked about a barrage of comments from Mr Musk, the billionaire who has been tapped to co-head President-elect Trump's Office for Government Efficiency.
The prime minister criticized Musk and British Conservative politicians who share some of his views. He accused them of being “spreading lies and misinformation as widely as possible.” Associated Press Reported.
Musk, who owns the social platform X, has supported far-right political movements in the UK and Germany. He criticized Mr Starmer, called for new elections in Britain and expressed support for far-right figures in the country.
Mr Musk has posted several messages accusing Mr Starmer of failing as former director of public prosecutions to prosecute men who raped young girls.
Mr Starmer has sought to deflect Mr Musk's criticism and protect his reputation as a prosecutor. Reuters reported.
“When I was chief prosecutor for five years, I tackled this issue head on,” Starmer said, adding that he reopened closed cases and prosecuted grooming gangs. “I changed the whole prosecutorial approach.”
In his remarks to the press, Mr Starmer insisted that the biggest problem was not Mr Musk's posts on X, but the country's politicians who were amplifying them.
“What are politicians here doing to protect democracy?” he asked, adding that some Conservatives were “desperate for attention.”
“Once we lose that anchor that truth matters, we're on a very slippery slope,” Starmer said, according to the Associated Press.
Musk continued posting and reposting criticism of Starmer on his X account on Monday.
He responded to Mr Starmer's remarks by calling him “.”say something insane” and the Prime Minister is “absolutely despicable”.
The Associated Press contributed.
