Nigel Farage refuses to back Elon Musk's calls to 'free Tommy Robinson'
4 January 2025, 07:34 | Updated: 6 January 2025, 08:50
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has distanced himself from Elon Musk’s stance on jailed far-right figure Tommy Robinson after the tech billionaire called for him to be released from prison.
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Mr Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed back in October for contempt of court when he repeated false claims against a Syrian refugee.
Musk, the billionaire ally of Donald Trump who is considering donating around £100 million to Mr Farage’s Reform UK party, pinned a message at the top of his X feed which read “Free Tommy Robinson!” earlier this week.
While the Clacton-on-Sea MP is seemingly thrilled to have Musk on side, Mr Farage has repeatedly tried to draw a clear line in the sand between himself and Tommy Robinson.
The Reform UK leader said at a conference in Leicester on Friday that Musk had "a whole range of opinions, some of which I agree with very strongly, and others of which I am more reticent about".
Mr Farage may have been keen to put a driving wedge between himself and Robinson, but he still expressed his admiration for Musk, calling him a "remarkable new entrant" into American politics who is "very helpful" for Reform.
Read more: America turns on Starmer: PM attacked by Trump and Musk over net zero and grooming gangs
Mr Farage said that the X CEO is a "hero" for buying the social media platform, adding that "at least with Elon, we've got free speech back."
"Whether we like everything he says or not, he is a hero," Mr Farage added.
He continued: "Everyone says, well, what about his comments on Tommy Robinson? Look, my position is perfectly clear on that. I never wanted Tommy Robinson to join UKIP, I don't want him to join Reform UK, and he won't be."
Mr Musk’s controversial post about Tommy Robinson and his indication he will donate to Reform are not his only interventions in British politics that have sparked backlash in recent weeks.
The world’s richest man posted several times about grooming gangs in Rochdale and Oldham, attacking prime minister Keir Starmer and the Labour MP and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips over their responses to the scandal.
The US billionaire wrote in one post that Ms Phillips even "deserves to be in prison" over her failure to launch an inquiry, arguing that "rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice".
Speaking to LBC earlier this week, Labour minister Andrew Gwynne said: "We've already had inquiries into Telford, into Rotherham... and the government is seriously considering the recommendations.
He said that grooming gangs are a "very serious issue" and urged Musk ought to stay out of UK politics, adding: "There comes a point [where] we don’t need more inquiries."
Mr Gwynne added: "Had Elon Musk really paid attention to what’s been going on in this country, he might recognise that there have already been inquiries.
"What we need is justice for the victims. And we need to make sure the criminal justice system follows up and makes sure that these atrocious things are never able to happen again."
