Elon Musk TURNS on Nigel Farage and says ‘Reform needs a new leader’ – after disagreements over Tommy Robinson
ELON Musk has called for a new leader of Reform after Nigel Farage said he was wrong to praise far-right agitator Tommy Robinson.
But it came just hours after the opposition politician had defended the world’s richest man for his attacks on PM Sir Keir Starmer and his handling of the grooming gangs scandal.
He had told the BBC support from Musk made the opposition challengers “look cool with huge numbers of young people”, describing him as “a hero”.
Musk had been in talks over a massive donation to Reform with Farage meeting him in Florida last month.
However, Farage said the Space X and Tesla boss was wrong about describing Tommy Robinson as a political prisoner for speaking out about grooming gangs.
Robinson was jailed in October for contempt of court for repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee.
Farage added he would have a word when the pair meet at Donald Trump’s inauguration in two weeks time about why he was misguided.
But in a post on his X platform on Sunday afternoon, Musk hit back: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
Farage has spent years distancing himself from Robinson and his supporters are banned from Reform, however his cause has been leapt on by Musk in recent days.
In an interview with the BBC, Farage argued as a “free speech absolutist”, Musk has a right to his own opinion.
And he then pushed a message from Reform Deputy Leader Richard Tice calling for a national inquiry in Muslim gangs in northern towns.
Farage previously said Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is “not what we need”, as his party seeks to challenge Labour in upcoming elections.
Asked about the posts on X, Farage told GB News that Mr Musk was “attacking the leadership of Britain” over the grooming gangs scandal.
“He sees Robinson as one of these people that fought against the grooming gangs. But of course, the truth is Tommy Robinson’s in prison not for that, but for contempt of court,” he said.
“There are people in Britain who think that Robinson is a political prisoner.
“That’s the narrative that he’s pushed out. That’s how he earns his living but it isn’t quite true.”
On whether Reform UK would accept support from Robinson in the future, Farage said: “We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election.
“He’s not what we need.”
Farage resigned from Ukip, the party he once led, in 2018 over its “obsession” with Robinson.
Lee Anderson, Reform’s chief whip, said that Robinson would not be allowed to join the party, told the outlet: “Tommy Robinson? No, I wouldn’t welcome him into Reform UK. I think we made our position quite clear on that.
“We need to win the next election to save this great country of ours and we can’t have any distractions at all.
“I think Tommy Robinson would be a distraction.”
Why has Tommy Robinson been jailed?
By Ryan Merrifield
Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months after showing a film containing slurs about a Syrian refugee.
The 41-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, appeared at Woolwich Crown Court after breaching a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating false claims about a then-schoolboy.
Far-right activist Robinson was accused of being in contempt of court over having “published, caused, authorised or procured” a film titled Silenced, which contained the libellous allegations.
Contempt of court is a legal term that describes behaviour that interferes with the justice process or risks unfairly influencing a court case, according to Gov.uk.
The Solicitor General said he “knowingly” breached the order on four occasions.
Robinson breached a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating false claims about then-schoolboy Jamal Hijazi, who successfully sued him for libel.
The Solicitor General issued the first contempt claim against Robinson in June 2024, claiming he “knowingly” breached the order on four occasions.
In court last year, Robinson admitted the charges.
Lawyers previously told a judge that the breaches included Robinson having “published, caused, authorised or procured” a film titled Silenced, which contained the libellous allegations, in May 2023.
The second claim was issued in August, concerning six further breaches, including playing the film to a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London earlier this year, which lawyers for the Solicitor General told an earlier hearing was a “flagrant” breach of the court order.
Aidan Eardley KC, for the Solicitor General, said the film was viewed “very extensively”, including being seen by 2.2 million people after being reposted by Andrew Tate.
And, he said in written submissions that by the time the second claim was issued, it “had received 44m views on X alone”.
He claimed that all of the paragraphs of the injunction were breached “at one point or another” by the film.
The sentence for contempt of court can be up to two years imprisonment at the Crown Court or one month at the magistrates’ court.
Silenced is a film which contains the false and libellous allegations about Mr Hijazi which Robinson was banned from repeating.
Sasha Wass KC, for Robinson, told the court that the film’s production was funded by Infowars, a company run by American Alex Jones, who has claimed that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax.
The activist played the film to a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London.
It also remains pinned to the top of Robinson’s profile on social media site X, while he also repeated the claims in three interviews between February and June 2023.