Is Elon Musk trying to ‘whip up’ division in UK over Henry Nowak murder?

Southampton in the United Kingdom is seeing protests over the murder of a teen by a Sikh man. And Elon Musk is adding fuel to the fire.

The development comes days after Vickrum Digwa, the convicted murderer, has been ordered to serve over two decades in prison for the killing of Henry Nowak.

Footage of the incident, showing the police handcuffing Nowak and dismissing his claims that he had been stabbed by Digwa, has gone viral. Now, Musk has taken to social media to put up several posts about the murder of Nowak. But what do we know? Why is Musk adding fuel to the fire?

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Let’s take a closer look

What we know about protests, Musk

According to The Independent, two people were arrested earlier this week after violent protests broke out. Police were pelted with chairs, cans, rocks and flares on Tuesday by some of the hundreds of people who attended a protest in the English southern coastal city of Southampton, where Nowak was killed in December. At least 11 officers and a police dog were injured, police said.

The protests were condemned by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called the violence “disgraceful and completely unacceptable”. Starmer on Wednesday said Nowak’s murder posed “serious questions to answer, including how accusations of racism informed police thinking”. But he called the street violence “disgraceful and completely unacceptable”.

Starmer also condemned Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who claimed that the protests were ‘just the beginning’ and called for people to respond with ‘cold rage’.

Musk has been among those who have been taking to social media to post about the murder of Nowak. According to the Financial Times, Musk has posted about British politics over 100 times in the past week. This includes reposting a video from far-right activist Tommy Robinson, in which he claims Nowak was “murdered by racist police policies that target white people”.

This screen grab from bodycam video taken shows 18-year-old student Henry Nowak being handcuffed by police before his death, following a false claim of racial abuse, in Southampton, south England. AFP

Musk also responded to Restore MP Rupert Lowe, saying that the far-right party, if elected, would put Nowak’s killer to death “with the British people’s approval”. Musk wrote, “it is this or death”. Lowe was previously an MP with Farage’s Reform UK. Musk also posted on X, “Only Restore Britain can save Britain.”

Musk also amplified another post from Lowe, simply writing, “Rage.” Musk has also vowed to fund a private prosecution of the police officers involved. “Official police policy requires them to be racist against whites,” Musk wrote.

Musk also retweeted a post from Lowe which claimed that Lowe “put me in prison because I backed the mass deportation of Pakistani child rapists and their foreign wives/relatives who allowed it to happen”. This is far from the first time Musk has commented on British politics. After a mass stabbing in Southport in 2024, Musk wrote on X, “civil war is inevitable”. He was among those accused of playing a role in fomenting the anti-immigration riots in the UK that followed the stabbing.

Musk previously went after Starmer over the ‘Pakistan grooming gangs’ scandal, writing on his social media platform, “Starmer was complicit in the rape of Britain when he was head of Crown Prosecution for 6 years.”

“Starmer must go and he must face charges for his complicity in the worst mass crime in the history of Britain,” Musk added. “So many people at all levels of power in the UK need to be in prison for this,” Musk earlier wrote on social media.

Why is Musk pouring fuel on the fire?

Musk already is arguably amongst the most powerful and influential men in the United States. He contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign in 2024. He has parroted right-wing talking points, from DEI to the ‘Great Replacement Theory’, and given them a boost on social media. Musk is now trying to extend that same influence over to the UK.

Starmer has accused Musk of “interfering” in UK politics, and said Britain needs to “assert who we are” as “reasonable, tolerant people”.

“We need to also assert who we are as a country, because Musk, again, has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division; that is not who we are in Britain,” Starmer said. “In Britain, we are reasonable, tolerant people. When we have a terrible case like Henry’s case, Henry Nowak, we react calmly as his family have done.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused Musk of “interfering” in UK politics, and said Britain needs to “assert who we are” as “reasonable, tolerant people”. Reuters

Starmer isn’t alone. The Financial Times quoted Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey as saying that Musk’s posts amounted to “a co-ordinated campaign of foreign interference in British democracy by a rogue American tech billionaire who seems hell-bent on injecting poison”.

Experts agree with that assessment.

“I cannot think of anybody who has tried to exert influence in the same way and to the same extent as [Musk] has recently from the outside,” Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, told the Financial Times. Bale noted the “sheer volume [of posts] and obsessive quality of his interest in Britain”.

Meanwhile, Farage does not appear pleased by Musk’s endorsement of Lowe. Farage on Sunday told The Telegraph newspaper that Musk was looking to split the right wing in British politics and was “supporting a party that’s one man with a social media account”. “Quite what he’s trying to achieve, I have no idea,” Farage added.

FAQs

1. Why are there protests in Southampton?

The protests erupted following the murder of teenager Henry Nowak, with tensions escalating after viral footage and allegations about police misconduct.

2. What role has Elon Musk played in the controversy?

Elon Musk has posted extensively about the case on social media, amplifying controversial viewpoints and right-wing narratives.

3. Why are UK leaders criticising Musk?

UK leaders, including Keir Starmer and Ed Davey, have accused Musk of interfering in British politics and contributing to social unrest by promoting polarising content.

With inputs from agencies