Elon Musk has stepped up his war of words with the UK Government after being denied an invitation to an upcoming business investment summit.

Responding to the news of the snub, the Tesla billionaire said: “I don’t think anyone should go to the UK when they’re releasing convicted paedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts.”

The owner of X has not been asked to attend the International Investment Summit by the new administration following a spat with Sir Keir Starmer over the role that social media platforms played in the summer riots.

Jeremy Hunt, the shadow chancellor, said it was a “big loss” for Britain that Musk would not attend and told the BBC that the Tesla owner had previously signalled he was considering building an electric car plant in Britain.

Kemi Badenoch, who is standing to be Tory leader, said she was a “huge fan of Elon Musk” and praised his stand in favour of free speech.

A spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade declined to comment.