Musk's grooming gangs attack on Phillips 'disgraceful smear'

Elon Musk's onslaught connected Jess Phillips' handling of grooming gangs is simply a "disgraceful smear," Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said.

Tech multi-billionaire Musk posted messages connected his societal media tract X saying the safeguarding curate should beryllium jailed and calling her a "rape genocide apologist" arsenic good arsenic criticising Sir Keir Starmer for failing to prosecute gangs.

It came aft Phillips rejected a petition for the authorities to pb a nationalist enquiry into kid intersexual exploitation successful Oldham - which sparked calls from the Conservatives and Reform UK for a nationalist enquiry into grooming gangs.

Streeting told the BBC Musk's comments were "ill-judged" arsenic Phillips had "done much than astir radical ever do" to combat intersexual abuse.

On Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Streeting said: "It is simply a disgraceful smear of a large pistillate who has spent her beingness supporting victims of the benignant of unit that Elon Musk and others accidental that they're against.

"It's each precise casual to beryllium determination and occurrence disconnected thing successful haste and click nonstop erstwhile radical similar Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips person done the hard yards of really locking up woman beaters, rapists and paedophiles."

Musk's latest involution came aft Phillips instructed Oldham Council successful October to motorboat its ain section enquiry into historical kid intersexual maltreatment successful the town, akin to inquiries acceptable up successful Rochdale and Telford.

Musk said that she "deserves to beryllium successful prison" for her response.

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

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

Streeting's comments came aft Reform UK person Nigel Farage defended Musk aft the billionaire attacked the UK government's effect to grooming gangs.

Speaking connected the aforesaid programme, Farage said Musk had utilized "very pugnacious terms" but that "free code was back" connected X nether his ownership.

He said the nationalist is "absolutely close to be" aggravated astir grooming gangs and to inquire wherefore determination had not been a afloat nationalist inquiry.

Streeting challenged Musk to "roll up his sleeves" and assistance tackle unit against women connected online platforms.

"Online platforms person got a relation to play successful keeping radical harmless online, helping instrumentality enforcement connected perpetrators of unit against women and radical who privation to groom kids online."

The wellness caput said Sir Keir and Phillips some had "records that their critics can't adjacent statesman to touch".

While manager of nationalist prosecutions, Sir Keir introduced a peculiar authoritative for kid maltreatment and intersexual exploitation to oversee convictions against grooming gangs.

Starmer besides changed the Crown Prosecution Service guidance to promote constabulary to analyse suspects successful analyzable intersexual maltreatment cases and tribunal reforms aimed astatine making the process little traumatic for victims.

"As manager of prosecutions, Keir Starmer opened up historical cases, going aft radical who thought they had got distant with it," Streeting said.

"As for Jess Phillips, the enactment that she has done successful her nonrecreational beingness extracurricular politics, supporting victims of unit against women and girls, she has helped enactment them to get their time successful in tribunal and fastener up their abusers" helium added.

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.

Conservative shadiness location caput Chris Philp criticised Musk's comments connected Phillips arsenic "not appropriate" but argued helium was "right to beryllium raising the wide issue".

Speaking connected the aforesaid programme, Philp said politicians person an "obligation" to talk astir hard issues successful a calm mode "but they besides person an work to archer the truth" connected these matters.

In a missive seen by the BBC, Phillips and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote to the Conservatives mounting retired wherefore they had asked Oldham Council to acceptable up its ain inquiry, alternatively than assistance its petition for a government-led one.

The missive pointed retired the section authorization had already started mounting up its ain inquiry, and added victims person said "loud and clear" they privation action.

They said they supported an autarkic reappraisal commissioned by Mayor Andy Burnham, which covered historical maltreatment successful Oldham and led to a caller constabulary investigation, arsenic good arsenic different kid extortion enactment crossed Greater Manchester.

The missive highlighted the enactment of the Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry which published its last findings successful 2022. It made wide "abuse indispensable beryllium pursued and challenged everyplace with nary fearfulness oregon favour" - whether successful attraction homes, churches, homes oregon by grooming gangs.

Professor Alexis Jay, who led that inquiry, said successful November she felt "frustrated" that nary of its 20 recommendations to tackle maltreatment had been implemented much than 2 years later.

There person been respective investigations into grooming gangs successful assorted parts of England, including Rotherham, Bristol, Cornwall and Derbyshire.

An enquiry into maltreatment successful Rotherham recovered 1,400 children had been sexually abused implicit a 16-year period, predominantly by British Pakistani men.

An probe successful Telford recovered that up to 1,000 girls had been abused implicit 40 years - and that immoderate cases had not been investigated due to the fact that of "nervousness astir race".