Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, has come under fire for his comments about the UK government’s response to grooming gangs. Musk criticised Home Office Minister Jess Phillips, and alleged that former Crown Prosecution Service director Keir Starmer had failed to properly prosecute rape gangs. The attack followed the Home Office’s decision to reject calls for a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. The Conservatives and Reform UK have advocated a wider national inquiry into the matter.
Nevertheless, Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK has defended Musk, claiming that “free speech was back” under his ownership of X. Musk has reportedly been considering making a donation to the Reform party. Speaking in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Farage distanced himself from Musk’s support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Musk’s attacks sparked controversy after Phillips instructed Oldham Council to initiate their own local inquiry into past sexual abuse, a decision that Musk harshly criticized. Despite this, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended her and called Phillips “fearless and formidable”.
In the interview, Farage also discussed the issue of grooming gangs and called for a public inquiry. He expressed frustration at the lack of action in response to the problem, saying that “People ask themselves, what has happened to our country? How could this possibly have happened? Why did everybody want to cover it up? Why has there been no full public inquiry?”
Since investigations into grooming gangs began, there have multiple additional incidents discovered in various parts of England including Rotherham, Bristol, Cornwall, Derbyshire, and more.
Despite the claims made in the interview, be sure to note that this issue, like many, is multifaceted and there is no simple solution
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