London: Elon Musk on Thursday called for the release from prison of Tommy Robinson, one of Britain's best known far-right agitators, in the US tech billionaire's latest intervention in UK events.

In a flurry of messages on his X platform, Musk also renewed his criticism of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, highlighting that his time as the country's top prosecutor coincided with a child grooming scandal emerging.

It comes after Musk, the world's richest man and key ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, faced recent criticism over his support for Germany's far-right AfD party.

Concerns have also emerged in Britain over claims that Musk is set to donate tens of millions of pounds to the upstart hard-right Reform UK party.

Musk has been highly critical of Starmer, including during anti-immigration riots that rocked English and Northern Irish cities last year.

In his overnight X posts, Musk claimed that Robinson was in "solitary confinement prison for telling the truth" and that "he should be freed".

His posts swiftly garnered huge support from far-right figures, including Dutch politician Geert Wilders, as well as some right-wing YouTube channels.

Robinson, a one-time football hooligan who boasts a string of UK criminal convictions, is serving an 18-month jail term for repeated contempt of court breaches.

He has amassed a big online following after years spearheading a vehemently anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant movement.

Accused of helping fuel last summer's riots, Robinson was jailed in October after he admitted committing contempt of court over a long-running libel case involving a Syrian refugee.

MENAFN02012025000063011010ID1109049526