An online row has broken out between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Tesla CEO Elon Musk over anti-immigration riots in the UK.

More than a dozen cities and towns have been gripped by chaotic protests, triggered by a deadly knife attack in Southport, England.

Musk claimed that “civil war was inevitable,” commenting a video on X (formerly Twitter) that showed the street clashes. The video was posted by a user that suggested the root cause was mass immigration to the UK and open-border policies.

Downing Street hit back against the statement. “There is no justification for comments like that,” Starmer’s spokesperson told reporters, calling the riots “organized, illegal thuggery which has no place on our streets or online.”

The prime minister slammed the actions of troublemakers, and pledged to field a “standing army of public duty officers” in response.

“The criminal law applies online as well as offline, and I’m assured that is the approach that is being taken,” Starmer said in a statement released on X. “Whatever the apparent motivation, this is not protest. It is pure violence, and we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or our Muslim communities,” he stressed.