Elon Musk’s father has told Sky News that protesters targeting his son’s cost-cutting work for the US government are “bums”.

Errol Musk was responding, in an interview with Business Live, to a growing backlash among US taxpayers and Tesla customers against his son’s role in the Trump administration-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The electric car firm has increasingly become the subject of sales boycotts and protests – neither of which have been consigned to the US though dealerships there have seen vehicles vandalised and even set alight.

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Musk Sr told presenter Darren McCaffrey: “To take notice of the bums that are trying to hurt Tesla by damaging cars, well that’s just plain silly. Nobody does that, you know, you use your brain… and (it) tells you these people are the problem, not the car.”

The anger directed at Elon Musk was “media hype”, he said as he also dismissed growing unease among Tesla investors that his son’s main business interest was suffering at a time when the challenges facing it are only rising.

Earlier this month one of Tesla’s earliest investors, Ross Gerber, told Sky News Mr Musk should step down as the electric carmaker’s chief executive unless he quit his work for the Trump administration.

His worries included bad publicity and Mr Musk’s ability to devote enough time to Tesla.

It was revealed last week that Tesla sales had fallen 40% in Europe and were behind those of cheaper Chinese rival BYD on an annual basis.

Mr Musk himself has since warned he expects a “significant” hit to Tesla from Mr Trump’s metal tariffs and looming duties on all US car imports and car parts.

He also hinted at the weekend, in an interview with Fox News, that he could soon have more time on his hands as the bulk of his work at DOGE should be completed by late May.

Errol Musk denied any suggestion that his son was overstretched, saying there were good people at Tesla to delegate day-to-day business while Elon completed “vital work” for US taxpayers, given the state of the country’s mounting debt pile.

“He’s got plenty of ability to do that. Don’t worry about it,” he said, while predicting that Tesla shares would recover to $600 per share by the year’s end. They are currently changing hands for $254.

“There’s no concern there whatsoever, not at all,” he said.

An “extensive search” is under way to find an 11-year-old girl after she fell into the River Thames in east London.

The Metropolitan Police said it was called at around 1.15pm on Monday to reports the girl had entered the river near Barge House Causeway, near London City Airport.

All emergency services are forming a “large-scale response” to the incident.

The girl’s next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by officers.

The London Ambulance Service was also called at a similar time, after receiving a report of a person in the water at Lowestoft Mews, which is close to the airport.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team,” a spokesperson said.

“Our crews assisted our emergency services partners at the scene but were later stood down.”

London Fire Brigade Deputy Assistant Commissioner Joseph Kenny added that “firefighters responded to reports of a person in the River Thames near Lowestoft Mews, Newham”.

He said crews from East Ham, Barking, Ilford and Bexley fire stations were sent to the scene alongside other emergency services.

“The brigade also deployed its drone team and fire boat as part of its response, with crews carrying out a systematic search of the area,” he added.

“The brigade was first called about the incident at 1.23pm. Search operations for firefighters were concluded at 3.49pm when responsibility for the incident was left with the police.”

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Controversial sentencing guidelines that were due to come into force on Tuesday have been delayed after a political backlash.

The Sentencing Council, the independent body that sets out sentencing guidance to courts in England and Wales, was due to bring in new rules around how judges should determine punishment for people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The new guidance states that a pre-sentence report – the results of which are taken into account when considering a criminal’s sentence – will “usually be necessary” before handing out punishment for someone from an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.

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Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, had said the proposed guidance was “unacceptable” and amounted to “differential treatment before the law” as she urged the council to reverse it.

When the Sentencing Council initially refused her request, Ms Mahmood threatened to legislate to overturn the guidance if necessary.

She confirmed this evening that she would introduce legislation on Tuesday to block these guidelines coming into effect.

The Sentencing Council has now delayed the “in force date of the guideline pending such legislation taking effect”.

It said in a statement that the council “remains of the view that its guideline, imposition of community and custodial sentences, as drafted is necessary and appropriate”.

However, in a meeting between the chairman Lord Justice Davis and Ms Mahmood on Monday, the minister “indicated her intention to introduce legislation imminently that would have the effect of rendering the section on ‘cohorts’ in the guideline unlawful”.

The council said it is unable to introduce a guideline when there is a draft bill due for introduction that would make it unlawful.

Ms Mahmood said: “This differential treatment is unacceptable – equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice system. I will change the law to ensure fairness for all in our courts.”

The Sentencing Council also attracted criticism from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, who said its updated guidance was an example of “two-tier justice” that would lead to “blatant bias” against Christians and straight white men.

He also argued that it would make “a custodial sentence less likely for those from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community” – something the council denied.

The council previously rejected calls from the government to abandon the guidelines, which ask judges to consider offenders’ racial, cultural and religious background when deciding a sentence.

Lord Davis denied that pre-sentence reports reduced the prospect of a jail sentence.

However, he said the council would provide “some clarification of the language” to avoid confusion.