The war of words between Ed Davey and Elon Musk has been cranked up a notch this weekend, after the leader of the Liberal Democrats openly suggested that the tech billionaire should be arrested if he steps foot on British soil.
Ed Davey vs Elon Musk moves up a gear
Davey was the first senior politician to call-out Musk’s controversial address to last weekend’s Unite The Kingdom rally, in which he implored UK citizens to ‘fight back’ against immigration. He divisive rhetoric led to accusations of him ‘trying to incite violence’.
The politician in charge of the UK’s third-most popular party has repeatedly called for the relevant authorities to ban Elon Musk from conducting business in the country, branding him as a threat to national security. Reportedly, Tesla is considering an application to supply energy to Britain.
Following his comments, Elon Musk then labelled Ed Davey as a ‘craven coward’, which led to this round of mockery…
‘He should be held to account’
Speaking on the sidelines of the Lib Dem party conference this weekend, Davey pushed his agenda against Musk even further. He told Sky News that he believes the world’s richest man ‘is a criminal’, and meets the threshold to be prosecuted under new British laws.
Musk stands accused of violating the Online Safety Act. His new nemesis has accused the former DOGE chief of allowing harmful content – ranging from paedophilia to pro-suicide videos – to remain on his social media platform, X.
Davey also stated, very plainly, that he thinks Musk should be arrested ‘if he lands in the UK”…
“Yes, he is a criminal. Not just because he’s incited violence, but on his X platform, you’ve got adverts pushing people to self-harm and there are videos of paedophilic acts. He should be held to account personally. OFCOM now has the power from the Online Safety Bill to act.”
“I know it’s a new law, and it might need time, but. We shouldn’t just let powerful people do what they want. Yes, if he lands in the UK, he should be arrested. Look, I am not the police, and I am not OFCOM – but I believe that standard has been met.” | Ed Davey