ReutersElon Musk’s assault at the govt’s dealing with of grooming gangs is “misjudged and without a doubt misinformed”, Well being Secretary Wes Streeting has stated.
Tech multi-billionaire Musk has posted a sequence of messages on his social media website X, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute gangs that systematically groomed and raped younger ladies, and calling for shielding minister Jess Phillips to be jailed.
Requested about his feedback, Streeting stated “this govt takes the problem of kid sexual exploitation extremely critically”.
He invited Musk to “roll up his sleeves and paintings with us” towards rape gangs.
The Tories have additionally criticised Musk for “sharing issues which can be factually faulty”.
Whilst visiting a care house in Carlisle on Friday, Streeting stated Labour was once getting “on with the activity” of imposing the suggestions of the impartial inquiry into kid sexual abuse led by way of Professor Alexis Jay “in complete”.
He instructed journalists: “One of the most criticisms Elon Musk has made I feel are misjudged and without a doubt misinformed.
“However we are prepared to paintings with Elon Musk who I feel has were given a large position to play together with his social media platform to assist us and different nations take on those severe problems.
“If he desires to paintings with us and roll his sleeves up, we would welcome that.”
Musk, a key adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump, has accused Sir Keir of failing to correctly prosecute rape gangs whilst director of public prosecutions (DPP), and has time and again retweeted Reform UK and Conservative MPs calling for a countrywide inquiry.
He additionally prompt safeguarding minister Jess Phillips “merits to be in jail” after she rejected a request for the House Place of business to reserve a public inquiry into kid sexual exploitation in Oldham. She stated the council will have to fee an area inquiry as a substitute, as came about in Rotherham and Telford.
The verdict was once criticised by way of a number of senior Tories, in spite of the former Conservative govt turning down a an identical request in 2022.
Tory chief Kemi Badenoch has known as for a complete nationwide public inquiry into what she known as the United Kingdom’s “rape gangs scandal”.
However the celebration has additionally criticised Musk for “sharing issues which can be factually faulty” and distanced itself from his name for Phillips to be jailed.
Alicia Kearns – who shadows Phillips because the Conservative spokesperson on safeguarding – instructed BBC Radio 5 Reside Musk had “fallen vulnerable” to sharing issues on his X platform “with out severely assessing them”.
She accused Musk of “drawing away consideration from the survivors and from the sufferers” of rape gangs, and “lionising folks like [far-right activist] Tommy Robinson – which is frankly unhealthy”.
Reform UK chief Nigel Farage has instructed the BBC that Musk, the sector’s richest guy, is in talks about creating a donation to the celebration. The 2 males met at Trump’s Florida retreat ultimate month.
Jay inquiry
There were a large number of investigations into the systematic rape of ladies and younger girls by way of organised gangs, together with in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire and Bristol.
Inquiries into Higher Manchester Police’s dealing with of historic kid intercourse abuse instances in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale have additionally been performed.
Previous on Friday, well being minister Andrew Gwynne prompt Musk “must center of attention” on US politics, the place he’s set to behave as an unelected adviser to the Trump management on slicing federal spending.
Talking to LBC Radio, Gwynne added that kid grooming was once a “very severe factor”, pointing to earlier investigations which had taken position into sexual abuse scandals.
“There comes some extent the place we don’t want extra inquiries, and had Elon Musk in point of fact paid consideration to what is been occurring on this nation, he may have recognised that there have already been inquiries,” he stated.
The Unbiased Inquiry into Kid Intercourse Abuse (IICSA), which printed its ultimate record in 2022, described the sexual abuse of kids as an “epidemic that leaves tens of hundreds of sufferers in its toxic wake”.
It knitted a number of earlier inquiries in combination along its personal investigations.
Professor Jay stated in November she felt “pissed off” that none of her record’s 20 suggestions to take on abuse have been carried out greater than two years later.
She stated: “It is a tricky material, nevertheless it is very important that there is some public figuring out of it.
“However we will simplest do what we will to press the federal government to take a look at the supply of all of this.
“It does not want extra session, it does now not want extra analysis or dialogue, it simply must be completed.”
