Musk 'misinformed' on grooming gangs, says Streeting

Elon Musk's onslaught connected the government's handling of grooming gangs is "misjudged and surely misinformed", Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said.

Tech multi-billionaire Musk has posted a bid of messages connected his societal media tract X, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute gangs that systematically groomed and raped young girls, and calling for Safeguarding curate Jess Phillips to beryllium jailed.

Asked astir his comments, Streeting said "this authorities takes the contented of kid intersexual exploitation incredibly seriously".

He invited Musk to "roll up his sleeves and enactment with us" against rape gangs.

The Tories person besides criticised Musk for "sharing things that are factually inaccurate".

While visiting a attraction location successful Carlisle connected Friday, Streeting said Labour was getting "on with the job" of implementing the recommendations of the autarkic enquiry into kid intersexual maltreatment led by Professor Alexis Jay "in full".

He told reporters: "Some of the criticisms Elon Musk has made I deliberation are misjudged and surely misinformed.

"But we're consenting to enactment with Elon Musk who I deliberation has got a large relation to play with his societal media level to assistance america and different countries tackle these superior issues.

"If helium wants to enactment with america and rotation his sleeves up, we'd invited that."

Musk, a cardinal advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, has accused Sir Keir of failing to decently prosecute rape gangs portion manager of nationalist prosecutions (DPP), and repeatedly retweeted Reform UK and Conservative MPs calling for a nationalist inquiry.

He besides suggested safeguarding curate Jess Phillips "deserves to beryllium successful prison" aft she rejected a petition for the Home Office to bid a nationalist enquiry into kid intersexual exploitation successful Oldham. She said the assembly should committee a section enquiry instead.

The determination was criticised by respective elder Tories, contempt the erstwhile Conservative authorities turning down a akin petition successful 2022.

Tory person Kemi Badenoch has called for a afloat nationalist national enquiry into what she called the UK's "rape gangs scandal".

But the enactment has besides criticised Musk for "sharing things that are factually inaccurate" and distanced itself from his telephone for Phillips to beryllium jailed.

Alicia Kearns – who shadows Phillips arsenic the Conservative spokesperson connected safeguarding – told BBC Radio 5 Live Musk had "fallen prone" to sharing things connected his X level "without critically assessing them".

She accused Musk of "drawing distant attraction from the survivors and from the victims" of rape gangs, and "lionising radical similar [far-right activist] Tommy Robinson - which is frankly dangerous".

There person been galore investigations into the systematic rape of girls and young women by organised gangs, including successful Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol.

Earlier connected Friday, wellness curate Andrew Gwynne suggested Musk "ought to focus" connected US politics, wherever helium is acceptable to enactment arsenic an unelected advisor to the Trump medication connected cutting national spending.

Speaking to LBC Radio, Gwynne added that kid grooming was a "very superior issue", pointing to erstwhile investigations which had taken spot into intersexual maltreatment scandals.

"There comes a constituent wherever we don't request much inquiries, and had Elon Musk truly paid attraction to what's been going connected successful this country, helium mightiness person recognised that determination person already been inquiries," helium said.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA), which published its last study successful 2022, described the intersexual maltreatment of children arsenic an "epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims successful its poisonous wake".

It knitted respective erstwhile inquiries unneurotic alongside its ain investigations.

Professor Jay said successful November she felt "frustrated" that nary of her report's 20 recommendations to tackle maltreatment had been implemented much than 2 years later.

She said: "It's a hard taxable matter, but it is indispensable that there's immoderate nationalist knowing of it.

"But we tin lone bash what we tin to property the authorities to look astatine the transportation of each of this.

"It doesn't request much consultation, it does not request much probe oregon discussion, it conscionable needs to beryllium done."