Elon Musk 'not invited' to UK investment summit over false Southport stabbing posts

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk, who claimed a civil war in the UK was 'invevitable' has been snubbed by the government over an upcoming investment push.

Keir Starmer's administration is set to host the International Investment Summit in October, but Mr Musk has not been invited. The Tesla chief, who bought Twitter in 2022, made a number of posts following the stabbing attack in Southport earlier this year.

In the posts, which he published on the recently renamed X, Mr Musk promoted false claims about the horrific attack, in which three children were killed. He also attacked the Prime Minister.

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As a result of these posts, Mr Musk has not been invited to the October, the BBC has reported. Mr Starmer will host the International Investment Summit on October 14 two weeks before the autumn Budget.

The Government hopes the summit will attract hundreds of leading chief executives and financiers and is part of efforts to show that the UK is "open for business" after a period of political and economic turmoil.

BNY, Blackstone and CyrusOne have confirmed attendance, according to the Treasury. A list of attendees has not been released.

Investment giant Blackstone has already confirmed a £10 billion deal to develop Europe's largest AI data centre in Blyth, Northumberland.

The firm's president, Jon Gray, will be among the executives at a roundtable event hosted by Sir Keir on Thursday.

Mr Musk was a star guest at the UK Government's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit last year, during which then-prime minister Rishi Sunak interviewed him for almost an hour in front of business chiefs.

But it appears he will not be courted by the new Labour administration after his posts about the disorder in the UK last month. False information that spread on social media about the identity of the alleged Southport knife attacker has been seen as playing a role in sparking the days of violence.

The billionaire engaged with posts by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, suggesting that civil war in the UK was "inevitable", and retweeted a fake Daily Telegraph headline suggesting rioters would be sent to detention camps in the Falkland Islands.

The social media tycoon also called the Prime Minister "two-tier Keir", a reference to claims that police have a "two-tier" approach to protests and deal with some more harshly than others.

Justice Minister Heidi Alexander said at the time that Mr Musk's comments on civil war were "deeply irresponsible" and Sir Keir's spokesman said there was "no justification for comments like that".

The Government and X have been contacted for comment.