How Elon Musk seized on baseless memo claim to fuel wave of misinformation

Elon Musk's online attacks connected erstwhile Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown implicit grooming gangs gully connected a baseless assertion astir a Home Office memo supposedly issued 17 years ago, probe by BBC Verify has established.

A question of societal media posts - including immoderate amplified by Mr Musk - allege that a 2008 Home Office papers advised constabulary not to intervene successful kid grooming cases due to the fact that victims had "made an informed prime astir their intersexual behaviour".

But BBC Verify has carried retired extended searches of Home Office circulars issued crossed that play and recovered nary grounds that immoderate papers containing this proposal exists.

Brown - who was premier curate successful 2008 - has called the allegations "a implicit fabrication" and the Home Office says determination "has ne'er been immoderate truth" to them.

Social media posts referencing a memo and utilizing either the operation "informed choice" oregon a saltation similar "lifestyle choice" person circulated for respective years with immoderate gaining traction.

But that intensified dramatically since the commencement of the year, with posts repeating the assertion generating tens of millions of views successful the past week aft Mr Musk amplified respective of them connected his societal media platform, X.

In 1 post, which has received implicit 25 cardinal views, Mr Musk alleged that "Gordon Brown sold those small girls for votes" portion reposting different user, June Slater, utilizing words that were seemingly a saltation of the memo claim.

The archetypal unfounded assertion astir a Home Office circular to constabulary seems to stem from an interrogation Nazir Afzal - the erstwhile Crown Prosecution Service main authoritative for north-west England - gave to the BBC connected 19 October 2018. He present admits that helium had not seen immoderate specified circular himself, contempt seemingly stating its beingness arsenic fact.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme, helium told presenter Carolyn Quinn astatine the time:

"You whitethorn not cognize this, but backmost successful 2008 the Home Office sent a circular to each constabulary forces successful the state saying 'as acold arsenic these young girls who are being exploited successful their towns and cities we judge they person made an informed prime astir their intersexual behaviour and truthful it's not for you constabulary officers to get progressive in".

Although the programme is nary longer disposable to perceive to connected the BBC's website, a mentation has been uploaded to YouTube. BBC Verify has besides accessed the programme done the BBC's in-house archives to corroborate the audio is genuine.

The archetypal station referencing Mr Afzal's assertion appears to person been made 1 period aft his interview, BBC Verify has found. But the archetypal station to summation sizeable traction was successful July 2019.

Since past posts with versions of the assertion person circulated occasionally connected X and different platforms, with immoderate posts from larger accounts successful 2024 getting much attention, earlier intensifying massively successful caller days.

Speaking to BBC Verify, Mr Afzal clarified his presumption admitting that helium has ne'er seen immoderate circular with the signifier of words that helium utilized successful his 2018 interview.

Instead helium present says helium was referring to constabulary officers who had told him immoderate officers had misinterpreted instructions successful a circular sent by the Home Office.

Mr Afzal pointed america to Home Office circular 017/2008 which is astir the police's powers nether the 1989 Children's Act.

However, the words "informed choice" bash not look anyplace successful the text, nor is the circular astir kid grooming gangs.

It does contain, however, a conception connected however to justice important harm to a child. "It is important ever to instrumentality relationship of the child's reactions, and his oregon her perceptions, according to the child's property and understanding," it reads.

It seems hard to recognize however immoderate constabulary serviceman could misconstrue this conception successful the mode Mr Afzal described successful his 2018 interview

He told BBC Verify helium was "paraphrasing what I thought that meant to them", erstwhile helium gave his Radio 4 interview.

Asked however officers could person interpreted circular 17/2008 successful this way, Mr Afzal said:

"You're right, it doesn't stack up. It doesn't springiness an excuse oregon explanation, but I can't springiness you immoderate different circular."

BBC Verify besides asked Mr Afzal if helium could enactment america successful interaction with immoderate of the officers that whitethorn person misinterpreted the circular successful mode helium described, but helium was incapable to bash this.

Mr Afzal's assertion was not a 1 off. One twelvemonth earlier his 2018 interview, Mr Afzal wrote an nonfiction for the International Business Times wherever helium besides stated the assertion arsenic fact:

"The word "child prostitute" was utilized extensively to picture them and it should beryllium noted some that the Home Office successful a circular to constabulary successful 2008 utilized that word and spoke of girls making an "informed choice" to prosecute successful this behaviour. Parliament lone yet removed the word from each laws a mates of years ago."

Despite involvement successful the assertion going backmost respective years we person been incapable to place immoderate different idiosyncratic who is capable to supply grounds of immoderate circular to this effect.

The intent of the circulars - oregon memos - is to supply constabulary forces with guidance, argumentation updates and administrative instructions.

The Home Office says each memos and circulars to constabulary forces are published online successful the National Archives. They are besides kept successful the room of the College of Policing website.

BBC Verify searched each the circulars for 2008 and could find nary notation to "informed choice" oregon "child prostitute" oregon immoderate operation akin to the 1 cited successful the societal media posts.

Of the 32 circulars listed connected the National Archives website for 2008, lone 1 - 017/2008 - falls nether the class "child abuse". We person besides searched circulars for 2007, 2009 and 2010 and recovered nary references to "informed choice". We besides searched for different phrases successful Mr Afzal's archetypal statements and variations from aboriginal societal media posts - for illustration "get involved", "sexual behaviour" and "lifestyle choice" - and recovered nary occurrences.

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There person been respective Freedom of Information requests regarding a expected memo oregon circular with the "informed choice" phrase, but nary constabulary unit has recovered immoderate hint of specified a communication.

We were capable to find a circular from 2009 that links to a webpage that further links to a papers connected kid intersexual exploitation released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families that mentions the operation "informed choice". It is not an acquisition to constabulary and the discourse it appears successful is emphasising situations wherever section agencies mightiness request to study intersexual enactment successful bid to support children "unable to marque an informed choice".

There were circulars successful 2007 and 2010 that contained the operation "child prostitute". The archetypal was successful transportation with immoderate method changes to offences similar "controlling a kid prostitute". The 2nd again dealt with method changes but this circular connected prostitution besides said: "In short, immoderate steps taken, whether relating to transgression proceedings oregon not, should beryllium designed to support the kid from continuing intersexual exploitation and abuse."

The word "child prostitute" was taken retired of the instrumentality successful 2015 arsenic it could connote that children could consent to abuse.

Circulars and memos are received by elder individuals successful each constabulary force, erstwhile Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary Simon Bailey told BBC Verify.

"They would've gone to transgression registrars and the caput of the transgression and they would've cascaded the guidance," helium said.

If determination was immoderate uncertainty astir however to construe the guidance a unit would person gone backmost to the Home Office to question clarity, Mr Bailey added.

"And adjacent going backmost 17 years, I cannot judge the Home Office would've sent retired a circular of that nature."

In a connection to BBC Verify, the Home Office said it had ne'er instructed constabulary not to spell aft grooming gangs:

"There has ne'er been immoderate information successful the beingness of a Home Office circular telling constabulary forces that grooming gangs should not beryllium prosecuted, oregon that their victims were making a choice, and it is present wide that the circumstantial circular which was being referred to does perfectly nary specified thing."

Jacqui Smith - present Baroness Smith - was the Labour Home Secretary successful 2008. She told BBC Verify: "It is categorically incorrect that the Home Office oregon I instructed constabulary forces not to prosecute grooming gangs oregon not to support young girls."

A spokesperson for Gordon Brown said: "There is nary ground for specified allegations astatine all. They are a implicit fabrication. There is nary instauration whatsoever for alleging that Mr Brown sent, approved oregon was successful anyhow progressive with issuing a circular oregon connection to the constabulary due to the fact that it did not happen."

BBC Verify has attempted to talk to those who repeated the assertion connected X and had their posts amplified by Mr Musk.

In 1 post, Mr Musk alleged that "Gordon Brown committed an unforgivable transgression against the British people" and shared a video clip from campaigner Maggie Oliver appearing connected GB News.

In the clip, Ms Oliver alleged: "Gordon Brown sent retired a circular to each the constabulary forces successful the UK saying 'do not prosecute these rape gangs, these children are making a manner choice'."

Ms Oliver said that she based her assertion connected what Mr Afzal said:

"My cognition of this comes from what Nazir Afzal said publically successful 2018 successful his BBC interview."

BBC Verify besides reached retired to June Slater, whose station was besides amplified by Mr Musk. She told america she had not seen the memo, but her assertion was besides based connected what Mr Afzal and Ms Oliver had antecedently said:

"I thought helium was a reliable root arsenic is Maggie Oliver."

Asked if helium regretted the misinformation that had stemmed from his statements, Mr Afzal told BBC Verify:

"I regret that radical person interpreted what I interpreted and that it's benignant of got mislaid successful translation."

BBC Verify besides contacted the Police Federation, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing astir the alleged circular.

The NPCC referred america to the Home Office's connection portion the College of Policing said it was not alert of immoderate circular.

While determination is nary grounds for the beingness of the circular, the show of the constabulary and different institutions successful protecting victims and investigating maltreatment has been heavy criticised during this period.

Prof Alexis Jay - who carried retired the autarkic enquiry into kid maltreatment - said immoderate victims would ne'er retrieve from their experiences.

"We heard clip and clip again however allegations of maltreatment were ignored, victims were blamed and institutions prioritised their reputations implicit the extortion of children."

Additional reporting by Ned Davies and Lucy Gilder.