In a scathing attack on the “poison of the far-right” Keir Starmer said a line “had been crossed” by Elon Musk and politicians who have spread lies about grooming gangs
Keir Starmer has accused Elon Musk and his supporters of “spreading lies and misinformation” with no regard for sex abuse victims.
In a scathing attack on the “poison of the far-right” he said a line “had been crossed” with misleading attacks on himself and Home Office Minister Jess Phillips. In recent days Ms Phillips has faced threats, he said, after Musk posted a string of abusive messages about her.
A visibly angry Mr Starmer hit out at Tory MPs for not condemining Musk’s attacks – saying they need to consider why they got into politics. He also voiced his fury at those like the tech billionaire who support far-right agitator Tommy Robinson as he defended his record tackling grooming gangs.
He said: “Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible, they’re not interested in victims. They’re interested in themselves. Those cheerleading Tommy Robinson aren’t interested in justice. They’re supporting a man who went to prison for nearly collapsing a grooming case.”
Mr Starmer, who as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) led targeted action against grooming gangs, said: “What I won’t tolerate is this discussion based on lies without calling it out. What I won’t tolerate is politicians jumping on the bandwagon simply to get attention.”
He blasted Tories for not calling out abuse of Ms Phillips, saying: “If you’re not prepared to stand up as a Tory MP and denounce what’s being said about Jess Phillips – who’s now had threats made to her – you need to seriously consider why you’re in politics in the first place.”
In recent days the world’s richest man has made a string of attacks on the UK Government. On Monday morning he ranted: “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government.”
Musk, a key advisor to Donald Trump, has posted a slew of abusive messages, calling for Mr Starmer to be kicked out and Ms Phillips to be jailed. Speaking to reporters in Surrey he said: “I think most people are more interested in what’s happening in the NHS than what’s happening on Twitter.”
He said he had tackled child sexual exploitation “head on” when he was in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – saying: “When I left office, we had the highest number of child sexual abuse cases, being prosecuted on record.”
The PM said: “Child sexual exploitation is utterly sickening. Utterly sickening. And for many, many years, too many victims have been completely let down, let down by perverse ideas about community relations or by the idea that institutions must be protected above all else.”
Earlier the former head of a national inquiry into child sexual abuse called on the Government to get a move on and finally put her recommendations in place. Professor Alexis Jay distanced herself from demands for a new independent probe – instead saying the measures she demanded two years ago are needed.
She said: “Our mission is not to call for new inquiries but to advocate for the full implementation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse’s recommendations. A child protection authority is critical to this process.” In a statement, the Government said it was working “at pace” to deliver the reforms set out in the 2022 review, which found abuse was “endemic” across society in England and Wales.
“No child should ever suffer sexual abuse or exploitation and it is paramount we do more to protect vulnerable children – which is why we are working at pace across government to drive forward real action to implement the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse,” a spokesperson said.
“Professor Alexis Jay worked for seven years on a comprehensive independent inquiry and continues to work with survivors of these heinous crimes – and this Government is committed to working closely with survivors and expert groups like Act on IICSA.”
As director of public prosecutions (DPP), Mr Starmer brought in a national network of specialist prosecutors for child abuse and sexual exploitation. These were tasked with overseeing cases against grooming gangs, while guidance was changed to focus on the credibility of allegations.
Despite this, Musk suggested the Prime Minister was “complicit in the crimes” of child sex offenders, and in a separate post added: “Prison for Starmer.” Health minister Karin Smyth said Mr Musk’s attacks on the Prime Minister were “wrong” and “most people in this country know that”.
“It would be more helpful if Mr Musk wanted to use his platform to support victims,” she told Times Radio. Asked whether she was worried about Ms Phillips’ safety, the minister said: “She’s a strong person. She will continue this work and we want to make sure that this work happens. That’s the critical thing here.”
On Sunday Health Secretary Wes Streeting condemned the tech billionaire’s attacks on Ms Phillips as a “disgraceful smear”. She and the Prime Minister have an “actual record of banging up rapists, paedophiles and sex offenders, so they don’t need lectures from anyone else”, he said.
Social media platforms can help to clamp down on those grooming children online if Mr Musk wants to “roll his sleeves up and actually do something about tackling violence against women and girls”, he added.
Musk lashed out at Ms Phillips after she wrote to Oldham Council saying it must follow other towns such as Rotherham and Telford and commission its own inquiry into historical abuse of children. The Government faces calls for a new national inquiry from Reform UK and the Conservatives – despite the Tories refusing a request for a public inquiry into events in Oldham while in government.
The Government is against launching another nationwide probe and has said it is working to implement recommendations from Prof Jay’s inquiry, which concluded in 2022. That inquiry looked into abuse by organised groups following multiple convictions of sexual offences against children across the UK between 2010-2014, including in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol.
Campaign group Act on IICSA, chaired by Prof Jay, has called on the Government to set out a timeline for putting in place its recommendations.
