Starmer warns xAI of regulatory action over Grok images and Musk’s political interference
Keir Starmer accuses Elon Musk of whipping up division following the Southampton murder, while UK government prepares to confront xAI over non-consensual imagery generated by its Grok tool.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has launched a direct critique of Elon Musk, accusing the tech billionaire of interfering in British politics and attempting to whip up division in the wake of the murder of Henry Nowak. Speaking in Yorkshire ahead of a meeting with regional mayors, Starmer described Britons as “reasonable, tolerant people” and signalled a hardening of the government’s stance on foreign influence and digital safety.
The Prime Minister expressed full support for Labour MP Jess Asato, who is pursuing legal action against Musk’s xAI company. Asato has filed a high court claim alleging that Grok, an AI tool owned by xAI, breached data protection and misuse of private information laws. The claim states that the platform allowed users to prompt the system to generate fake sexualised images and videos of the MP, including a video depicting her being chloroformed and prepared for sexual assault.
Starmer warned that xAI faces “drastic regulatory action” if it fails to halt the flow of such content, noting that some of the generated imagery involved children. He highlighted that the government had previously engaged with xAI several months ago regarding similar issues, stating, “I am really pleased that we took Grok on a few months ago, because that is the fight we should be in.”
The comments come amid significant civil unrest in Southampton, where eleven police officers and one police dog were injured on Tuesday night. Crowds, including far-right agitators, attacked officers during a protest regarding the death of Nowak, an 18-year-old fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa. Digwa had falsely claimed he was racially abused by Nowak before the incident, a narrative that Musk has repeatedly amplified on his social media platform.
Musk, who is a strong supporter of the far-right party Restore Britain, has argued that the Nowak case demonstrates bias against white people in the UK. The police watchdog is currently examining the conduct of officers who handcuffed Nowak after he had been stabbed. Starmer urged the country to react calmly to such tragedies, contrasting the government’s approach with what he described as Musk’s attempts to exploit the situation for political division.