Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey wants Parliament to summon tech billionaire Elon Musk to answer for inflammatory comments made at a far-right rally in central London. Davey has called for an Ofcom investigation into X, the social media platform owned by Musk, for allegedly failing to uphold duties under the Online Safety Act.
The controversy stems from Musk's video message to the Unite the Kingdom rally led by Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. The convicted fraudster and far-right activist organised the demonstration where Musk delivered his contentious remarks.
Musk told rally attendees: "Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die." Downing Street condemned the tech boss's comments, which sparked widespread criticism across the political spectrum.
Political spat escalates
The incident triggered a heated social media exchange between Davey and Musk over the past week. After Davey accused Musk of inciting violence, the billionaire branded the Liberal Democrat leader a "craven coward" in response.
Davey then shared a meme image of SpongeBob SquarePants, mockingly parroting Musk's words back at him. The unusual diplomatic exchange highlighted the growing tension between British politicians and the tech mogul.
Rare parliamentary procedure
The Liberal Democrats plan to table a motion when Parliament returns, aiming to summon Musk to appear before MPs at the bar of the House of Commons. This little-used parliamentary power would see Musk publicly admonished at the threshold of the chamber.
The procedure has not been tested for decades and was last used on a non-MP in 1957. The Lib Dems are urging the Government and other opposition parties to support the unprecedented move against the world's richest man.
Conference speech planned
Davey is expected to continue his criticism of Musk during his speech to the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth on Tuesday. He will tell delegates that Britain "must stand up to Elon Musk, and properly enforce our laws so he can't get away with inflicting harm on our kids".
The Lib Dem leader plans to accuse Musk of meddling in British democracy because of "his ego, power and wealth". Davey will argue that Musk opposes the Online Safety Act not from free speech concerns, but to avoid responsibility for harmful content on his platform.
Online safety concerns
Davey has accused Musk and X of breaching UK online safety laws by allowing proliferation of child sexual exploitation, self-harm and grooming content. He will tell the conference that Musk "doesn't really believe in free speech" but only supports it for those who agree with him.
The Liberal Democrat leader also plans to continue his criticism of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whom he branded "not a patriot" at the weekend. Davey will accuse Farage of wanting to give Musk "a Wild West on social media" that would harm children while benefiting the tech billionaire.
Both Musk and Farage have been vocal critics of the Online Safety Act, designed to protect children from harmful online content. Critics argue the legislation risks stifling freedom of speech on digital platforms.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
