3 min readUpdated: Jun 4, 2026 06:24 PM IST
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday accused SpaceX founder Elon Musk of “trying to whip up division” in his country following anger over the police handling of the murder of white student Henry Nowak by Sikh man Vickrum Digwa.
The row comes amid growing scrutiny in Britain over misinformation, online radicalisation and the role of influential social media figures in amplifying communal tensions.”
Starmer, who is facing political turmoil in his country, has slammed the billionaire, saying he is interfering in the nation’s politics and has been accused of attempting to whip up division.
The Labour Party minister, who had condoled the death of the 18-year-old British student, was quoted as saying by AFP, “We need to also assert who we are as a country, because (Elon) 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.”
Henry Nowak was killed in December by Vickrum Digwa, a Nihang Sikh man. The murder triggered far-right protests in the country, which turned violent on Wednesday. Nowak was allegedly put in handcuffs by police as he lay mortally bruised after being stabbed by Digwa, 23, in Southampton.
Musk’s arguments
Musk, who is a strong supporter of Restore Britain, the far-right party set up by Rupert Lowe, the former Reform UK leader, has been posting on social media about the murder of Nowak, using far-right themes and stances, in the last few weeks. Musk reiterated that the case of Nowak showed the UK is biased against white people.
Starmer, during his address in Yorkshire, lauded the Labour MP Jess Asato for taking legal action against Musk’s XAI company after saying its Grok tool aided a user in producing fake sexualised pictures of her. “Jess Asato is absolutely right in the action she is taking. Disgusting images were created, in her particular case by Grok,” Starmer was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
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Justice for Henry Nowak rally
In the violent protests, as many as 11 police officers and a police dog were injured on Tuesday night. The rally billed as ‘Justice for Henry Nowak’ turned into a full-blown riot addressed by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, with bricks, bottles and wheelie bins thrown at police defending the killer’s home.
UK Sikh community organisations and the British Sikhs All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) have separately condemned the killing as “the criminal act of an individual who alone bears the responsibility for his actions”. However, the groups warned that the broader Sikh community of approximately 520,000 British Sikhs, the vast majority of British-Indian origin, has “unacceptably faced considerable abuse and hate” in the trial’s aftermath.
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