Nigel Farage said Musk's comments came as a "surprise" and suggested the apparent fallout was over the jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

Mr Musk’s allyship with Mr Farage would seem like a natural fit, given that the Reform leader’s relationship with Mr Trump goes back much further. The pair first met in 2016, shortly after the president-elect’s first election victory, and they are thought to have remained allies since.