Twitter cited a new British law in a legal letter to Elon Musk, in what lawyers say may indicate that the UK government had concerns about what the $44bn transaction would mean for UK national security.

Twitter's legal team demanded the billionaire comply with his obligations under the merger agreement “including by taking all steps necessary to obtain a favourable outcome under the United Kingdom’s National Security and Investment Act 2021”, according to a 10 July letter to Musk's lawyers.