Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has distanced himself from Elon Musk’s support for jailed far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson.

The tech multi-billionaire added his voice to calls to release Yaxley-Lennon, who was jailed in October after admitting contempt of court by repeating false claims against a Syrian refugee.

Farage has been proud to show off the support of Musk, flying to Florida to meet the owner of social media site X, who helped President-elect Donald Trump win the US election.

But Musk’s support for Yaxley-Lennon is uncomfortable for Farage, who has made it clear over a number of years that he does not want him in his political party.

Speaking to Reform UK’s East Midlands conference in Leicester on Friday, Farage said Musk had “a whole range of opinions, some of which I agree with very strongly, and others of which I am more reticent about”.

Nevertheless, Farage described Musk as a “remarkable new entrant” into American politics.

Musk, he said, was a “hero” for buying Twitter. “At least with Elon, we’ve got free speech back,” he added.

Farage said: “Whether we like everything he says or not, he is a hero.”

With Musk said to be minded to give Reform UK a sizeable donation, Farage believes he remains “very helpful” to the party’s cause.

On Friday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting hit out at Musk’s attack on the government’s handling of grooming gangs, calling it “misjudged and certainly misinformed”.

Musk had posted a series of messages on X, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute gangs that systematically groomed and raped young girls, and calling for safeguarding minister Jess Phillips to be jailed.

Asked about his comments, Streeting said the government took “the issue of child sexual exploitation incredibly seriously”.

The Tories have also criticised Musk for “sharing things that are factually inaccurate”.