ReutersElon Musk’s assault at the govt’s dealing with of grooming gangs is “misjudged and unquestionably misinformed”, Well being Secretary Wes Streeting has mentioned.Tech multi-billionaire Musk has posted a sequence of messages on his social media web site X, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute gangs that systematically groomed and raped younger women, and calling for protecting minister Jess Phillips to be jailed.Requested about his feedback, Streeting mentioned “this govt takes the problem of kid sexual exploitation extremely severely”. He invited Musk to “roll up his sleeves and paintings with us” towards rape gangs.The Tories have additionally criticised Musk for “sharing issues which might be factually misguided”. Whilst visiting a care house in Carlisle on Friday, Streeting mentioned Labour used to be getting “on with the process” of enforcing the suggestions of the impartial inquiry into kid sexual abuse led via Professor Alexis Jay “in complete”.He advised journalists: “Probably the most criticisms Elon Musk has made I believe are misjudged and unquestionably misinformed.”However we are keen to paintings with Elon Musk who I believe has were given a large position to play along with his social media platform to lend a hand us and different nations take on those severe problems.”If he desires to paintings with us and roll his sleeves up, we might welcome that.”Musk, a key adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump, has accused Sir Keir of failing to correctly prosecute rape gangs whilst director of public prosecutions (DPP), and has time and again retweeted Reform UK and Conservative MPs calling for a countrywide inquiry. He additionally instructed safeguarding minister Jess Phillips “merits to be in jail” after she rejected a request for the House Place of job to reserve a public inquiry into kid sexual exploitation in Oldham. She mentioned the council must fee an area inquiry as a substitute, as came about in Rotherham and Telford. The verdict used to be criticised via a number of senior Tories, regardless of the former Conservative govt turning down a equivalent request in 2022.Tory chief Kemi Badenoch has referred to as for a complete nationwide public inquiry into what she referred to as the United Kingdom’s “rape gangs scandal”.However the birthday party has additionally criticised Musk for “sharing issues which might be factually misguided” and distanced itself from his name for Phillips to be jailed.Alicia Kearns – who shadows Phillips because the Conservative spokesperson on safeguarding – advised BBC Radio 5 Reside Musk had “fallen susceptible” to sharing issues on his X platform “with out significantly assessing them”. She accused Musk of “drawing away consideration from the survivors and from the sufferers” of rape gangs, and “lionising other people like [far-right activist] Tommy Robinson – which is frankly unhealthy”.Reform UK chief Nigel Farage has advised the BBC that Musk, the sector’s richest guy, is in talks about creating a donation to the birthday party. The 2 males met at Trump’s Florida retreat final month.Jay inquiryThere had been a lot of investigations into the systematic rape of ladies and younger girls via organised gangs, together with in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire and Bristol.Inquiries into Higher Manchester Police’s dealing with of historic kid intercourse abuse instances in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale have additionally been performed.Previous on Friday, well being minister Andrew Gwynne instructed Musk “must focal point” on US politics, the place he’s set to behave as an unelected adviser to the Trump management on reducing federal spending.Chatting with LBC Radio, Gwynne added that kid grooming used to be a “very severe factor”, pointing to earlier investigations which had taken position into sexual abuse scandals.”There comes some degree the place we do not want extra inquiries, and had Elon Musk truly paid consideration to what is been occurring on this nation, he would possibly have recognised that there have already been inquiries,” he mentioned.The Impartial Inquiry into Kid Intercourse Abuse (IICSA), which printed its ultimate file in 2022, described the sexual abuse of youngsters as an “epidemic that leaves tens of 1000’s of sufferers in its toxic wake”.It knitted a number of earlier inquiries in combination along its personal investigations.Professor Jay mentioned in November she felt “pissed off” that none of her file’s 20 suggestions to take on abuse were applied greater than two years later. She mentioned: “It is a tricky subject material, however it is very important that there is some public working out of it.”However we will be able to handiest do what we will be able to to press the federal government to have a look at the supply of all of this.”It does not want extra session, it does no longer want extra analysis or dialogue, it simply must be accomplished.”
