Keir Starmer attacks spread of ‘lies’ on grooming gangs
The Prime Minister attacked politicians and activists for “spreading lies and misinformation” involving grooming gangs.
It comes after billionaire Elon Musk accused Sir Keir Starmer of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” for failing to crack down on grooming gangs while he was Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Senior MPs from Britain’s Conservative and Reform parties also called this week for a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation.
But Sir Keir said: “Those who spread lies and misinformation as widely as possible are not interested in the victims, they are only interested in themselves.”
He said the online debate had “crossed the line” and resulted in threats being made to MPs, including safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.
Sir Keir went on to accuse the Conservatives of “jumping on the bandwagon” to gain attention, saying Tory MPs had “amplified far-right rhetoric” on child sexual abuse after “14 years” of inaction.
Debate around grooming gangs reignited this week after Phillips reportedly rejected a request from Oldham Council for a government-led inquiry into the town’s historic child sexual exploitation in favor of a locally-led inquiry.
The decision was made in October but was first reported by GB News on January 1.
Sir Keir described child sexual exploitation as “utterly disgusting” and defended his record as a DPP, saying he had tackled the issue “head-on”.
“I changed the system because I could see some problems,” he told reporters.
While in the DPP, Sir Keir introduced a special prosecutor on child abuse and sexual exploitation to oversee convictions; revised Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance to encourage police to investigate suspects in complex sexual abuse cases, and introduced court reforms aimed at making the process less traumatic for victims.
Sir Keir said he was also re-opening the first prosecution of an “Asian grooming gang” in Rochdale and calling for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse.
Sir Keir said: “When I left office we were prosecuting the highest number of child sexual abuse cases ever recorded.”
“The victims here were subjected to horrific abuse,” he said, “and then their voices were not heard.”
He said Phillips had “done a thousand times more” to protect victims of child sexual abuse than her attackers “could have ever dreamed of doing”.
ReutersReporters have learned Sir Keir plans to boldly defend his record and his government in some of the most impassioned remarks of his tenure as prime minister.
Sir Keir did not name anyone he believed was spreading lies during the debate, but his comments followed a series of questions about Musk’s intervention.
Over the past week, the tech entrepreneur has attacked the Labor government on the issue, using his platform on social media site Lord Erl was imprisoned.
On Monday, Musk launched a poll asking X users to vote on “whether the United States should liberate the British people from a tyrannical government.”
Sir Keir chose not to respond when asked about the article.
Musk’s push for the prime minister to step down could cause diplomatic trouble for Labor.
In addition to being one of the richest men in the world, Musk is a key adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump.
Whether Sir Keir can maintain his stance on Musk in the coming hours and days may depend on what Musk posts on social media.
Musk responded to Sir Keir’s comments, calling him “totally despicable”.
In a series of posts on social media, Musk continued to attack Labor figures and the Prime Minister by name.
He also condemned Sir Keir’s description of calls for a national inquiry into grooming gangs as far-right radicalism, calling it a “crazy claim”.
Musk calls for far-right activist Tommy Robinson to be released from prison.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is serving an 18-month sentence for contempt of court. Admitted he breached the ban Object to repeated accusations against a Syrian refugee schoolchild.
Sir Keir accused “cheerleaders” Robinson of not being interested in justice and said he would not tolerate discussion and debate about lies.
“Once we lose that important anchor of truth in the intense debate that we have to have, then we’re going to be on a very slippery slope,” he said.
There have been numerous investigations into the systematic rape of young women by organized crime gangs in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol.
Lord Keir acknowledged that many victims were “disillusioned by perverse ideas about community relations or the idea that institutions must be protected above all else, but their voices were not heard and were not heard.”
one Inquiry into Rotherham abuse The investigation found that 1,400 children were sexually abused over 16 years, mostly by British Pakistani men.
A Telford investigation finds up to 1,000 girls were abused over 40 years – and Some cases not investigated due to ‘racial tensions’“. Most of the suspects are South Asian men.
The UK Conservatives and Reform Party have been calling for statutory inquiries into grooming gangs.
Last week, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Trials have been held across the country in recent years without anyone in authority joining them. 2025 must be the year when victims start to get justice. “
But Sir Keir dismissed the calls, claiming Professor Alexis Jay’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was “comprehensive”.
He believes that “there have been many comments, including localized comments.”
Sir Keir said he agreed “no stone is left unturned” to end child sexual abuse but insisted “action” was needed now rather than another review.
