The first person in the UK to be charged with stirring up racial hatred on Facebook during the riots is due in court next week. Jordan Parlour, a 28-year-old from Leeds, will appear at the city’s magistrates’ court today – but it appears his case has already attracted attention from across the pond, not least from Twitter owner Elon Musk…
Musk slammed the news of the arrest after a video of a man being questioned by police was circulated – although it is not clear whether this is indeed Parlour himself. The Tesla CEO took to his social media platform in outrage, quote-tweeting the clip. ‘Arrested for making comments on Facebook! Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?’ he fumed. Then, tagging the ever-helpful Community Notes feature, he enquired: ‘Is this accurate?’
The tech investor didn’t stop there. He then went on to post an image of a Family Guy character strapped to a torture chair, writing: ‘In 2030 for making a Facebook comment that the UK government didn’t like.’ Just a bit of an overreaction, perhaps?
It’s the latest in a number of Musk’s tweets directed towards Sir Keir Starmer and the UK government. The Prime Minister slapped down the American’s response to the UK riots that civil war was ‘inevitable’ last night, with his spokesperson saying that ‘there is no justification for comments like that’. But Musk hasn’t dropped the issue yet, quote-tweeting a video of the disorder in Birmingham before replying to himself: ‘#TwoTierKeir’. It’s a reference to concerns about ‘two-tier’ policing, which Starmer denies – adding that there is ‘policing without fear or favour’ in the UK – but Musk’s post has so far amassed over half a million views, and counting. Talk about stirring the pot…
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