Elon Musk sparks backlash after being accused of endorsing violence in Britain
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Around 150,000 protesters marched through central London in the 'Unite the Kingdom' rally
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Elon Musk has been accused of endorsing violence in Britain following a speech during the "Unite the Kingdom" rally in London on Saturday.
The US tech billionaires spoke at the rally via video link and delivered a speech that has since sparked significant backlash while warning of what he described as the destruction of Britain through mass migration.
He said: "Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die."
The world's richest man also called for a "dissolution of parliament" and demanded regime change under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Government.
His remarks drew loud cheers from 150,000 protesters packed in central London.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed "there was a very large turnout" - with 150,000 people attending, going above and beyond the estimates of organisers.
Although the large majority of the protestors were peaceful, the force confirmed that at least 25 people were arrested and 26 police officers were injured, with four seriously hurt.
Following the event, senior UK politicians have condemned Mr Musk's remarks, referring to the South African-born business leader as "far-right".
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Elon Musk has been accused of endorsing violence in Britain
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Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey accused Musk of fuelling extremism, saying, “These far-right thugs do not speak for Britain”.
Labour sources also criticised Musk’s comments, insisting that threats of violence "have no place in our politics".
Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood warned that “anyone taking part in criminal activity will face the full force of the law”.
The Tesla founder also said: "I think there's something beautiful about being British, and what I see happening here is a destruction of Britain, initially a slow erosion but rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive uncontrolled migration.
Around 150,000 protesters marched through central London in the 'Unite the Kingdom' rally
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He added: "A failure by the Government to protect innocent people, including children who are getting gang-raped.
"It's unreal the Government has failed in its duty to protect its citizens, which is a fundamental duty of Government."
Mr Musk went on to say: "A lot of the woke stuff is actually super-racist, it's super-sexist and often it's anti-religion, but only anti-Christian, like why anti-Christian? That's unfair.
"This is why I give my message to the reasonable middle: 'Do you not want a world where there is fairness, common sense and you advance as a function of how hard you work and your talent and your integrity? That should be all that matters, the woke mind virus, that I call it, is against all that."
The US tech billionaires spoke at the rally via video link
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Other speakers included right-wing French politician Eric Zemmour, Danish People's Party leader Morten Messerschmidt, Petr Bystron of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, Polish MEP Dominik Tarczynski, Belgian activist Filip Dewinter, and Mayor of London challenger Ant Middleton.
The Met Police said during the march: "It is not possible for any more people to get into Bridge Street, Parliament Street or Whitehall. We’re working with organisers to provide exit routes for the crowds. We’d ask people to follow the organisers’ calls to remain calm."
Social media users have added to the outrage with one writing: "If that isn’t a call for threatening and violent action, I don’t know what is?"
Another added: "The billionaires have too much influence. They are transnational and loyal to no creed or country but their own interests."
Although the large majority of the protestors were peaceful, the force confirmed that at least 25 people were arrested
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At about 4.30pm, the Met said it continued to "see significant aggression directed at officers by Unite the Kingdom protesters".
The Met added: "We have deployed additional officers with protective equipment in multiple locations, supported by police horses, to deal with the disorder."
The Commander in charge of the public order policing operation in London, Clair Haynes, said prior to the rally that the Met was "used to delivering the sort of complex and large-scale policing operation that is required to keep the public safe".
She said prior the event: "We have a detailed plan to do so on Saturday. The main focus of the operation is on the two protests in central London. We will approach them as we do any other protests, policing without fear or favour, ensuring people can exercise their lawful rights, but being robust in dealing with incidents or offences should they occur."