Elon Musk ‘misinformed’ on grooming gangs, says Wes Streeting
ReutersHealth Secretary Wes Streeting said Elon Musk’s attacks on the government’s handling of grooming gangs were “misjudged and certainly misinformed”.
Tech billionaire Musk has posted a series of messages on his social media site Si was thrown into jail.
Asked about his comments, Streeting said “this government takes the issue of child sexual exploitation very seriously.”
He invited Musk to “roll up his sleeves and work with us” to fight rape gangs.
Conservatives also criticized Musk for “sharing things that were factually inaccurate.”
While visiting a nursing home in Carlisle On Friday, Streeting said Labor was “fully implementing” the recommendations of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse led by Professor Alexis Jay.
“I think some of the criticism that Elon Musk has made is misjudged and certainly wrong,” he told reporters.
“But we are willing to work with Elon Musk, who I think can play an important role through his social media platform in helping us and other countries address these serious issues.
“If he’s willing to work with us and roll up his sleeves, we’d welcome that.”
Musk, a key adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump, accused Sir Keir of failing to properly prosecute rape gangs during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and repeatedly retweeted Reform UK and Conservative MPs calling for a national inquiry.
He also suggested Protection Minister Jess Phillips “should be jailed” after refusing Call for the Home Office to order a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. She said the council should commission a local inquiry, like what happened in Rotherham and Telford.
Although the previous Conservative government rejected a similar request in 2022, the decision was criticized by several senior Conservatives.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenock calls for a full national public inquiry Caught in what she calls Britain’s “rape gang scandal”.
But the party also criticized Musk for “sharing things that were factually inaccurate” and distanced himself from his calls for Phillips to go to jail.
Alicia Kearns – who followed Phillips as the Conservatives’ defense spokesperson – Tell BBC Radio 5 Live Musk “tends” to share things on his X platform “without rigorous evaluation.”
She accused Musk of “deflecting attention from rape gang survivors and victims” and “adoring people like (far-right activist) Tommy Robinson — which, frankly, is dangerous.”
Meanwhile, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage on Friday praised Musk as an “absolute hero” and “very helpful to our cause.” The two met last month at Trump’s Florida resort.
He told the BBC that Musk had not donated to his party but “he fully supports us and he wants us to win the next election”. He said Musk “has indicated that he would be willing to give us some money if there was a legal way to do it.”
Police data for 2023 shows Group-based child sexual abuse accounts for 3.7% of all sexual crimes against children reported to the police.
Data show that 26% of group sexual abuse of children occurs within families, while 17% of group sexual abuse involves grooming gangs.
Schools, clubs and religious institutions account for 9%.
There have been numerous investigations into the systematic rape of girls and young women by organized crime gangs across Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire and Bristol.
An investigation has also been launched into Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) handling of historic child sex abuse cases in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the fight against grooming gangs “should not be politicized”.
Burnham added: “When others went in a different direction, that’s what we did.”
“In my opinion, this is something that should be faced completely and without flinching.”
Earlier on Friday, Health Secretary Andrew Gwinn suggested Musk “should pay attention” to U.S. politics, where he will serve as an unelected adviser on the Trump administration’s efforts to cut federal spending.
Speaking to LBC radio, Gwynne added that child grooming was a “very serious issue” and pointed to previous investigations into sex abuse scandals.
“There comes a point when we don’t need any more inquiries, and if Elon Musk is really paying attention to what’s going on in this country, he might realize that there are already inquiries,” he said.
this Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), The organization released its final report in 2022, describing child sexual abuse as “an epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims exposed.”
It combines several previous surveys with its own.
Professor Jay said in November she was “frustrated” that 20 of her report’s recommendations to tackle abuse had not been implemented more than two years later.
She said: “This is a difficult subject but it is vital that the public has some understanding of it.
“But we can only do what we can to urge the government to consider the implementation of all this.
“It doesn’t need more consultation, it doesn’t need more research or discussion, it just needs to be done.”
