LONDON – A senior UK government minister has criticized Elon Musk’s recent comments on British politics, calling them “misjudged and certainly misinformed.” Musk, the tech billionaire, accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to bring “rape gangs” to justice during his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions.
In a series of posts on his platform X (formerly Twitter), Musk also suggested that Jess Phillips, the UK’s safeguarding minister, “deserves to be in prison” for not agreeing to a national inquiry into a child sexual exploitation scandal in the northern city of Oldham.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting responded to Musk’s remarks during an interview with ITV News, stating that the government takes child sexual exploitation very seriously. Streeting added that Musk’s criticisms were misguided but welcomed his willingness to work together. “If he wants to work with us and roll his sleeves up, we’d welcome that,” Streeting said, referring to Musk’s potential role in using his platform to tackle the issue globally.
The child sexual exploitation scandals have been a long-standing and sensitive issue in the UK, particularly in towns like Rochdale, Rotherham, and Oldham. A number of court cases have resulted in the conviction of many men, primarily of South Asian Muslim origin, who were found guilty of abusing vulnerable, mostly white girls. Investigations and reports later revealed that authorities sometimes overlooked the abuse, fearing accusations of racism.
Musk’s posts also referenced Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist known for his controversial views on immigration and the grooming gang scandals. Musk expressed support for Robinson, stating he was “in prison for telling the truth” and should be freed. Robinson, who had been involved in stirring anti-immigration sentiments, was imprisoned in October for contempt of court in connection with a long-running libel case involving a Syrian refugee.
In his posts, Musk raised the issue of who was in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) during the period in which some of these scandals took place. He pointed out that Keir Starmer was the head of the CPS between 2008 and 2013, but investigations into the grooming gangs did not implicate him or suggest he tried to block prosecutions out of concerns over Islamophobia.
Musk’s remarks have sparked criticism for their inaccuracies, but the government has expressed openness to working with him to address the serious issue of child sexual exploitation.
Leave a Reply