Elon Musk has said Reform UK needs a “new leader” because Nigel Farage “doesn’t have what it takes”.
In a stunning blow to Reform supporters, Musk – a close ally and aide to incoming president Donald Trump – wrote: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
The X owner posted the message following days of headlines over his comments about the historic grooming scandal that took place across UK towns and cities more than a decade ago.
Musk has criticised both Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips for the Government’s handling of the scandal and has praised far-Right activist Tommy Robinson, who is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court.
He claimed Robinson was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson.”
On Saturday at a party conference, Mr Farage distanced himself from Robinson, saying the jailed activist was “not what we need”.
Asked about Mr Musk’s support for Robinson, Mr Farage told GB News: “He sees Robinson as one of these people that fought against the grooming gangs. But of course the truth is Tommy Robinson’s in prison not for that, but for contempt of court.”
Tommy Robinson (Image: Getty)
It comes just hours after Mr Farage told the BBC that Elon Musk’s support for Reform UK makes the party look “cool” and helps it attract younger supporters.
The party leader, 60, praised the X owner and world’s richest man, 53, as his “American friend”.
He has been linked with a $100million donation to Reform, but Mr Farage downplayed the likelihood of the handout being that big.
The Reform leader told the BBC: “He may well give us money.
“Whether he does or not, I think what he gives us with huge numbers of young people, he makes us look cool.”
Mr Farage met Musk at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in December to discuss a donation to Reform.
The owner of Tesla and X had a meeting that also included Reform treasurer Nick Candy, which Mr Farage described as “historic”.
Mr Farage used an appearance on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg to say that Mr Musk was an outspoken supporter of free speech, after he branded minister Jess Phillips a “rape genocide apologist” and a “wicked witch”.
Mr Musk also accused the PM of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” in an ongoing social media spat over sexual abuse by gangs of British Asian men in northern English towns.
Mr Farage told the BBC that the Tesla boss had used “very tough terms” but that “free speech was back” on X under his ownership.
He added: “This man happens to be the richest man in the world, but equally, the fact that he’s bought Twitter now actually gives us a place where we can have a proper open debate about many things… We may find it offensive, but it’s a good thing, not a bad thing.
“I just think people ask themselves, what has happened to our country? How could this possibly have happened? Why did everybody want to cover it up? Why has there been no full public inquiry?”
There have been several investigations into grooming gangs in various parts of England, including Rotherham, Bristol, Cornwall and Derbyshire.
An inquiry into abuse in Rotherham found 1,400 children had been sexually abused over a 16-year period, predominantly by British Pakistani men.
An investigation in Telford found that up to 1,000 girls had been abused over 40 years – and that some cases had not been investigated because of “nervousness about race”.
Wes Streeting said Mr Musk’s remarks about Jess Phillips over grooming gangs are a “disgraceful smear”.
The Health Secretary told the same programme: “It is a disgraceful smear of a great woman who has spent her life supporting victims of the kind of violence that Elon Musk and others say that they’re against.
“And it’s all very well sitting there, and I’m not just talking about Musk – I’m talking about armchair critics on social media – it’s all very easy to sit there and fire off something in haste and click send, when people like Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips have done the hard yards of actually locking up wife beaters, rapists, paedophiles.”
Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, said some of Mr Musk’s comments about Ms Phillips were “not appropriate” but he was right to raise the issue of grooming gangs.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch repeated her call for an inquiry in the Mail on Sunday, saying “some action was taken under the previous Tory government, but not enough”.
