Elon Musk has lashed out at British PM Keir Starmer in an escalating war of words over the wave of violence that has swept Britain.

It follows a comment from the tech billionaire on his X platform – in response to a video of people aiming fireworks at police – that “civil war is inevitable”.

On Tuesday (British time), Starmer’s spokesperson said there was “no justification” for Musk comments.

“What we’ve seen in this country is organised illegal thuggery, which has no place on our streets or online,” the spokesperson said.

“We’re talking about a minority of thugs that do not speak for Britain, and in response to it we’ve seen some of the best of our communities coming out to clean up the mess and disruption. You can tell from that the Prime Minister doesn’t share those sentiments.”

When Starmer posted on X that attacks on mosques and Muslim communities wouldn’t be tolerated, Musk hit back.

“Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?” he wrote.

He also shared a video of a person apparently being arrested for offensive online comments, with: “Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?”. Later, he replied to a post criticising British policing, saying the response “does seem one-sided”.

He also used the hashtag “TwoTierKier” – a reference to the PM and allegations of “two-tier policing” in Britain.

Well-placed sources tell me that Musk’s antics have “gone down like a BUCKET OF SICK” with the UK Labour government. Furthermore, a large number of global advertising agencies, on which X relies on for ad revenues, are – guess what – based in the UK… pic.twitter.com/agTUZPZwzk

— Mike Butcher (Threads: @mikebutcher) (@mikebutcher) August 6, 2024

Also on Tuesday, British Justice Minister Heidi Alexander said language associating the riots with civil war was “totally unjustified” and Musk’s comments were “pretty deplorable”.

“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.’’

Elsewhere, Politico reported that Labour MPs Chi Onwurah and Dawn Butler said they would consider summoning Musk to front British MPs.

“Shouldn’t you be concerned about X’s role in spreading misinformation and responsibility not to incite racial hatred?” Onwurah said in a public callout to the tech boss.

Amid concerns some of the violence across Britain this week has been driven by social media, police on Tuesday charged a 28-year-old man with stirring up racial hatred over Facebook posts.

Braced for further violence

Earlier, Starmer said sufficient police will be on the streets to handle anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant riots in coming days as he sought to reassure communities braced for more violent protests.

Riots have erupted in British towns and cities in recent days following the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed event in Southport, a seaside town in north-west England, after false messaging on social media wrongly identified the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant.

Rioters have targeted mosques and smashed windows of hotels housing asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East, chanting “get them out”, in the first widespread outbreak of violence in Britain for 13 years.

Messages online said immigration centres and law firms aiding migrants would be targeted on Wednesday, prompting anti-fascist groups to say they would counter any demonstration.

After an emergency meeting with ministers and police chiefs on Tuesday, Starmer said police would be on hand to cope with any further disorder.

“Our first duty is to ensure our communities are safe,” he told broadcasters.

“They will be safe. We are doing everything we can to ensure that where a police response is needed, it is in place, where support is needed for particular places, that is in place.”

The government has increased prison capacity to cope with the many arrests from the riots, which have prompted a growing number of countries to warn their citizens about the dangers of travelling in Britain.

Australian government advice on travel to Britain. Screenshot: Smartraveller.gov.au

Starmer said more than 400 people had been arrested, 100 had been charged, and he was expecting sentencing to start soon.

“Anybody involving themselves in this disorder is going to feel the full force of the law,” he said.

Three people will be sentenced on Wednesday in Liverpool, north-west England, after pleading guilty to violent disorder, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Starmer has vowed a reckoning for those who have engaged in rioting, hurling bricks at the police and counter-protesters, and looting shops and burning cars.

-with AAP