Big mouth Musk hasn't quite got the hang of democracy

When Donald Trump lands in the UK for his “unprecedented second state visit”, according to some authoritative reports, he will press Keir Starmer on the free speech crisis in Britain.

- SEAN O'GRADY

Apparently, he “berated” Starmer on the issue when the pair hung out at the US president’s Turnberry golf course a few weeks ago.

In which case, the prime minister should whip out his smartphone and show him a clip of Elon Musk addressing the Unite the Kingdom rally via video link.

It’s hard to pick the juiciest bit of the seditious virtual address made by the famous billionaire. But there were some passages that, were roles reversed, the Trump administration wouldn’t appreciate being aired to a big, angry crowd in Washington DC, and would probably lead to Musk being approached by officers of ICE and sent back to South Africa, if not Guantanamo Bay.

In case you missed it, this is probably the most chilling and insidious line - a virtual invitation to violence. Musk told the 100,000-plus attendees: “My appeal is to British common sense, which is to look carefully around you and say: ‘If this continues, what world will you be living in?’

“This is a message to the reasonable centre, the people who ordinarily wouldn’t get involved in politics, who just want to live their lives. They don’t want that; they’re quiet, they just go about their business.

“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you. You will have no choice. You're in a fundamental situation here. Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die. That’s the truth, I think.”