Starmer attacks spread of 'lies' on grooming gangs as he hits back at Musk

The premier curate has attacked politicians and activists "spreading lies and misinformation" implicit grooming gangs.

It comes aft multi-billionaire Elon Musk accused Sir Keir Starmer of being "complicit successful the rape of Britain" during his tenure arsenic manager of nationalist prosecutions (DPP) for failing to tackle grooming gangs.

Senior Conservatives and Reform UK MPs person besides spent the week calling for a nationalist enquiry into kid intersexual exploitation.

But Sir Keir said: "Those who are spreading lies and misinformation arsenic acold and arsenic wide arsenic imaginable are not funny successful victims, they're funny successful themselves."

He said the online statement had "crossed a line", resulting successful threats against MPs, including Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips.

Sir Keir went connected to impeach the Tories of "jumping connected a bandwagon" to summation attention, saying Conservative MPs were "amplifying what the far-right is saying" connected kid intersexual maltreatment aft failing to enactment "for 14 agelong years".

Debate astir grooming gangs was reignited this week aft it was reported that Phillips rejected Oldham Council's petition for a government-led enquiry into humanities kid intersexual exploitation successful the town, successful favour of a locally-led investigation.

The determination was taken successful October, but archetypal reported by GB News connected 1 January.

Describing kid intersexual exploitation arsenic "utterly sickening", Sir Keir defended his grounds successful bureau arsenic DPP, saying helium tackled the contented "head on".

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

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

"I changed the strategy due to the fact that I could spot immoderate of the things that were going wrong," helium told reporters.

Sir Keir said helium reopened cases, brought the archetypal prosecution of an "Asian grooming gang" successful Rochdale and called for mandatory reporting of kid intersexual abuse.

"When I near office, we had the highest fig of kid intersexual maltreatment cases being prosecuted connected record," Sir Keir said.

"The victims present suffered unspeakable abuse," helium said, "and past they weren't listened to."

Phillips had besides "done a 1000 times more" to support victims of kid intersexual maltreatment than those attacking her tin "even dreamt about", helium said.

Reporters were briefed Sir Keir planned a bold defence of his grounds and his authorities - and his comments were the astir impassioned helium has been successful his clip arsenic premier minister.

Sir Keir did not sanction immoderate of those helium thought were spreading lies successful the debate, but his comments followed a bid of questions astir interventions by Musk.

Over the past week, the tech-entrepreneur has attacked the Labour authorities implicit the issue, utilizing his level connected his societal media tract X.

Musk accused Phillips of being a "rape genocide apologist" and has called for her and Sir Keir to beryllium jailed.

On Monday, Musk started a canvass asking X users to ballot connected whether "America should liberate the radical of Britain from their tyrannical government".

Asked astir the post, Sir Keir chose not to respond.

Musk's propulsion to oust the PM could spark diplomatic occupation for Labour.

Alongside being 1 of the richest men successful the world, Musk is besides a cardinal advisor for US President-elect Donald Trump.

Whether Sir Keir tin prolong his attack to Musk implicit the coming hours and days whitethorn hinge connected what Musk adjacent posts connected societal media.

Musk has besides called for far-right activistic Tommy Robinson to beryllium released from jail.

Robinson, whose existent sanction is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is presently serving an 18-month situation condemnation for contempt of court, aft admitting helium breached an injunction against repeating claims astir a Syrian exile schoolboy.

Sir Keir accused those "cheerleading" Robinson of not being funny successful justness and said helium would not tolerate treatment and statement connected lies.

"Once we suffer the anchor that information matters, successful the robust statement that we indispensable have, past we're connected a precise slippery slope," helium said.

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

Sir Keir admitted galore of the victims had been "let down by perverse ideas astir assemblage relations oregon by the thought that institutions indispensable beryllium protected supra each other and they person not been listened to and they person not been heard."

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

An investigation 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".

The Conservatives and Reform UK person been calling for a statutory enquiry into grooming gangs.

Last week Kemi Badenoch, the person of the Conservatives, said: "Trials person taken spot each implicit the state successful caller years but nary 1 successful authorization has joined the dots. 2025 indispensable beryllium the twelvemonth that the victims commencement to get justice."

But Sir Keir dismissed the calls, claiming Professor Alexis Jay's Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was "comprehensive".

He argued "there person been a batch of reviews including localised reviews".

Sir Keir said helium agreed that "no chromatic should beryllium near unturned" to extremity kid intersexual maltreatment but insisted that "action" is needed now, not different review.