Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer today said the online debate about child sexual exploitation was based on lies as he hit out over politicians ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ and the ‘poison of the far-right’.
Responding to questions on social media posts from Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, the PM said ‘a line has been crossed’ after safeguarding minister Jess Phillips and others received threats.
Sir Keir’s comments follow posts by Mr Musk on his social media site, X, in which the billionaire claimed Ms Phillips ‘deserves to be in prison’ for denying requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham and called her a ‘rape genocide apologist’.
On Monday, Mr Musk suggested the Prime Minister was ‘complicit in the crimes’ of child sex offenders, and in a separate post added: “Prison for Starmer.” He also accused former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown of having ‘committed an unforgivable crime against the British people’ and ‘sold those little girls for votes’, over his handling of grooming gangs while in office.
Asked about Mr Musk’s posts following a speech at Epsom Hospital in Surrey, Sir Keir said: “Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible are not interested in victims, they are interested in themselves.”
He went on to criticise the response of senior Conservatives to Mr Musk’s comments, saying he was “concerned about where the Tory party is going on this”. He said: “I think only a few months ago, it would have been unthinkable for things to have been said about Jess Phillips (that) were said recently without all political parties and the leader of the opposition calling it out in terms.”
Elon Musk
(Image: PA)
Sir Keir also defended his own record on tackling grooming gangs, saying he had dealt with the problem “head-on” as director of public prosecutions. He said: “I reopened cases that had been closed and supposedly finished, I brought the first major prosecution of an Asian grooming gang – in the particular case it was in Rochdale, but it was the first of its kind, there were many that then followed that format.
“We changed, or I changed, the whole prosecution approach, because I wanted to challenge and did challenge the myths and stereotypes that were stopping those victims being heard. When I left office, we had the highest number of child sexual abuse cases being prosecuted on record. Now that record is not secret. As a public servant, it’s there for all of you, for everybody to see.
The row prompted by Mr Musk’s comments has also seen Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch call for a “full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal” and defend shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick after he tweeted that “importing hundreds of thousands of people from alien cultures, who possess medieval attitudes towards women” had led to the scandal.
Rochdale
(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
In a post on X responding to criticism of Mr Jenrick, Mrs Badenoch said: “We MUST be free to have tough conversations, no matter how difficult that may be to hear.”
Speaking on Monday, Sir Keir accused the Tories of “amplifying what the far-right is saying” on child sexual abuse after falling to act “for 14 long years”. He added: “What I won’t tolerate is politicians jumping on the bandwagon, simply to get attention when those politicians sat in government for 14 long years, tweeting, talking, but not doing anything about it. Now, so desperate for attention that they’re amplifying what the far-right is saying.”
Meanwhile, Professor Alexis Jay, who chaired the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, called for the “full implementation” of her report’s recommendations.
Distancing herself from calls in Westminster for a new independent review, she said instead that the introduction of measures which she recommended two years ago was “critical”.
The Government, meanwhile, said it is working “at pace” to implement the recommendations of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
“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 Government 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.”