Elon Musk’s attack on Sir Keir Starmer over a lack of action to tackle grooming gangs is “ridiculous and ill-informed”, a senior Labor minister said today.
Wes Streeting has taken aim at the X owner and senior adviser to Donald Trump for his social media blitz against the Prime Minister over sexual offenses committed by British Asian men.
Musk, the world’s richest man, also suggested the Safeguarding Minister “deserves to be in prison” for denying requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham.
However, Streeting led a Labor Party fight over an issue that saw conservatives and reformers align with Musk to demand a new inquiry.
The Health Secretary told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips program that ministers would support a local inquiry into Oldham, but there was no need for a new national inquiry as there had already been one.
‘The other thing I would say about the Prime Minister and Jess Phillips is that they are two politicians who have one particular thing in common: before they entered politics they had a real track record of beating up rapists, pedophiles and sex offenders.
‘So they don’t need lectures from anyone else, especially conservatives, about their record. In fact, they have a very strong one.
When asked specifically about Musk’s intervention from the United States, he added: “It’s ridiculous to say it, he’s misinformed, he’s not fair on any of his background.”
Wes Streeting has taken aim at the X owner and senior adviser to Donald Trump for his social media blitz against the Prime Minister over sexual offenses committed by British Asian men.
Musk, the world’s richest man, also suggested Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips (below) “deserves to be in prison” for denying requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham.
Mr Streeting said: “The other thing I would say about the Prime Minister and Jess Phillips is that they are two politicians who have one particular thing in common: before they entered politics they had a real history of beating up rapists, pedophiles and criminals. sexual.’
‘I’m not interested in what he has to say about this. “I am interested in what we are doing as a Government.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also defended Jess Phillips as a “brave and formidable” advocate for victims of sexual abuse after Musk criticized the Safeguarding Minister.
Musk also attacked Sir Keir Starmer, saying the Prime Minister failed to bring “rapist gangs” to justice when he was director of public prosecutions.
Cooper said Phillips had “campaigned tirelessly” on behalf of those who had been failed by institutions.
“Jess Phillips has dedicated her career to addressing sexual violence and abuse and being a voice for victims and survivors of the most horrific crimes, including child sexual abuse,” she said.
‘Since creating the first child sexual exploitation service in the Black Country and supporting survivors in Telford, Jess has been a brave and formidable advocate for victims and survivors.
“He has worked with whistleblowers and campaigned tirelessly for justice for those gravely let down by endemic institutional failure.”
As Home Office minister, Phillips has put expertise in preparing and treating trafficking victims “at the heart” of the department’s work on modern slavery and has launched a national plan for police and staff to work together to detect when hotels are used as sites for child sexual exploitation, Ms Cooper said.
Cooper said Birmingham MP Yardley would continue to work to implement the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which published its final report in 2022.
Led by Professor Alexis Jay, the inquiry examined abuse committed by organized groups following multiple convictions for sexual offenses against children across the UK between 2010 and 2014, including Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol.
Last year, Phillips described X, formerly Twitter, as a “place of misery” and said he planned to use the site less.
Its owner, Mr Musk, a key member of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle, shared and reacted to a series of tweets related to personal care in the UK earlier this week.
The Tesla boss described the Prime Minister as “two-tier Keir”, claiming there is “no justice for serious and violent crimes, but prison for social media posts” in the UK.
He also said Sir Keir failed to bring “rapist gangs” to justice when he was Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) between 2008 and 2013.
Since then, senior conservatives, including opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, have tried to pressure the government to feed the gangs.
In 2022, the then Conservative government also rejected a request for a public inquiry into the events in Oldham.
Ms Badenoch reiterated her call for an investigation in the Mail on Sunday, saying “some action was taken under the previous Conservative government, but not enough”.
“We still need to know the extent to which institutions such as the police, local government and social services are compromised by political correctness, and even self-interest,” he wrote.
“Only then can we have any hope of preventing abuses of this magnitude from happening again.
“We have failed to get to the bottom of how child sexual abuse occurs on a national scale, for fear of offending.”
Reform UK said on Saturday that if elected it would launch a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
President Zia Yusuf told supporters at a conference in Chelmsford, Essex, that his party would launch an independent inquiry that would “leave no stone unturned”.
Party leader Nigel Farage said a “full, open national inquiry” was needed so that everyone in the country “knows the truth” and understands that “mass immigration with open doors and no assimilation is a complete cultural disaster for our country.”
Whistleblower Maggie Oliver, a former detective who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in 2012, said Sir Keir is “perhaps as guilty as anyone” for failing to bring about change, but added that she believed in those who “come forward when this hits the fan.” headlines”. I wouldn’t do it either.
Ms Oliver told
He continued: ‘I firmly believe that we need completely independent people to ensure that this is not just another attempt to delay and hide the truth. Radical change and review of all our public bodies.’
“Hold all our senior police and public officials criminally accountable who have turned a blind eye.”
He said he felt the Conservatives and Labor were equally to blame and that Sir Keir, as a former PDP, is “perhaps as guilty as anyone I know for the situation we find ourselves in today”.
‘We all know what’s going on, but I don’t trust any of those who to date have been entrusted with the task of keeping our children safe and prosecuting serial rapists. They have failed. Repeatedly. Knowingly. Criminally.’