Elon Musk has been branded “deeply irresponsible” for stoking tensions in the UK on his social media site X/ Twitter.

The multi–billionaire, who bought the tech firm in 2022, clashed with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a war of words over riots across our country. Mr Musk published a stream of posts on the crisis, sharing videos from right-wing influencers and memes about the UK to his 193 million followers.

He branded the PM “two-tier Keir” in reference to accusations of “two-tier policing” in Britain, which the PM has rejected. Last night MPs said Mr Musk could be summoned to Parliament to be grilled over his comments, as well as his platform’s role in stoking violence in the UK.

Speaking after an emergency cobra meeting on Tuesday evening, Mr Starmer insisted his “sole focus” is on keeping communities in Britain safe when asked if he was worried about Mr Musk’s influence. The PM spoke about meeting officers in Southport who had been the first responders to the “terrible attack that happened” and were later subjected to violence on the streets by far-right thugs. “I think it’s very important for us all to support the police in what they're doing,” he said.

The row kicked off on Monday when the Tesla chief claimed "civil war is inevitable" in the UK after far-right mobs caused violent disorder across the country. Downing Street publicly slapped down the claim with Mr Starmer’s official spokesman saying there was “no justification for comments like that”.

Mr Musk, who has been cherry picking videos to amplify, on Tuesday geared up his commentary on the riots on X. He reposted a clip published by right-wing social media influencer Andy Ngo, who regularly appears on Fox News, that appeared to show a group of Asian men gathering in Birmingham on Monday.

A group of masked men, who forced a Sky reporter off air after swearing at him, had met in response to reports of a far-right gathering due in the area, which never ended up materialising. Mr Musk tagged Mr Starmer and wrote: "Why aren’t all communities protected in Britain?" He also shared a Daily Mirror front page from 2014 about the Rotherham grooming gangs, which referenced mostly Asian gangs being involved.

The Tesla billionaire also posted a video appearing to show a police officer arresting a man for "improper use of the electronic communications network", with the caption: "Arrested for making comments on Facebook! Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?" He posted other memes, including a cartoon of Family Guy's Peter Griffin in an Electric chair, with the caption: "In 20230 for making a Facebook comment that the UK government didn't like." The Government has pledged to punish armchair thugs who incite violence on social media.

Justice Minister Heidi Alexander criticised Mr Musk’s comment about the supposed inevitability of civil war in the UK. She said it was "deeply irresponsible" and that "everyone should be appealing for calm". "Use of language such as a 'civil war' is in no way acceptable,” she said. “We are seeing police officers being seriously injured, buildings set alight, and so I really do think that everyone who has a platform should be exercising their power responsibly."

Mr Musk, 53, is considered the world ’s richest person, with a net worth of $228billion, according to Bloomberg. He is the chief executive of electric car company Tesla and rocket and spacecraft company SpaceX, as well as being the boss of X, which was formerly known as Twitter but was renamed by him.

Mr Musk has become increasingly involved in politics, with him publicly throwing his weight behind Donald Trump in the US presidential election race. Controversial figures including Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate, who were previously banned from X, were reinstated when Mr Musk took over the platform.

A public row last month played out between Mr Musk and his transgender daughter after he said he had lost his “son” and described his child as “dead, killed by the woke mind virus.” Vivian Jenna Wilson, 20, who said she has not spoken to her dad in about four years, told NBC: “He’s very quick to anger. He is uncaring and narcissistic.”

Rishi Sunak heaped praise on Mr Musk at a press conference at the close of the UK's two-day AI Safety Summit last November. The ex-PM joked with the tech geek at a fireside chat in London about the risks of artificial intelligence.

Labour MPs Chi Onwurah and Dawn Butler, who have thrown their names in the hat to chair Parliament’s science, innovation and technology committee, said they would look to summon Mr Musk before MPs, Politico reported. Ms Onuwurah has publicly called out the tech boss and asked him: “Shouldn't you be concerned about X's role in spreading misinformation and responsibility not to incite racial hatred?"

Labour MP Josh Simons, who was a visiting research scientist at Facebook between 2018-2022, said: "What matters about Elon Musk is not only what he said, but how he’s changed X’s algorithms. The platform has become a vehicle for foreign adversaries and the far right to push lies and hate into the living rooms of people across the UK. That power, if anyone should wield it at all, must come with appropriate responsibilities.”

Georgie Laming, Director of Campaigns at HOPE not Hate, said: “Elon Musk has repeatedly platformed far right figures both through his ownership of the platform and his very own Twitter account. Musk has shared content from far-right party Britain First and let notorious far right creators like Tommy Robinson back on the platform despite their previous bans. The riot in Southport last week was in part, the cause of far-right misinformation from Tate and Robinson spread on Twitter.”

Lib Dem MP Tim Farron responded to Mr Musk asking Mr Starmer if he should be concerned about attacks on “all communities”. “Elon, forgive me, but there is no excuse for being such an utter berk about this,” he said. "I’m white and a Christian. No one is chucking bricks at my church or telling me to go back to where I come from. I’m concerned about attacks on the communities that are actually being attacked.”

Mr Farage, who was asked if Mr Musk was right in saying the UK was on the brink of civil war, declined to outright reject the characterisation. “I pray that he’s wrong,” he said.

The Reform UK leader was on Monday slapped down by politicians, including former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel, after making claims about “two-tier policing” as he sought to compare the riots to Black Lives Matter protests. Mr Starmer has rejected claims that riots over the last week have been dealt with more harshly by officers than other recent unrest and protests.

Pat de Brun, deputy director of tech at Amnesty International, said the algorithms at the heart of social media platforms, were a key factor in the current spread of disinformation. "In the UK, the racist violence that has spilled across the streets follows a period of intense scapegoating of refugees and migrants by politicians and others, through dangerous rhetoric and policies," he said.

Be the first with news from Mirror Politics

"In this context, social media algorithms have actively amplified and escalated xenophobic discourse. These toxic algorithms are deliberately designed to prioritise engagement above all else. As a result, they act as incendiaries that fuel division, disinformation and hate."

On Monday, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said he had met representatives from TikTok, Facebook's parent company Meta, Google, and X "to make clear their responsibility to continue to work with us to stop the spread of hateful misinformation and incitement".

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Government would not tolerate "armchair thuggery" and that social media platforms needed to take responsibility for the spread of online misinformation which has fuelled much of the disorder.