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Starmer condemns ‘lies and misinformation’ as he hits back at Musk Starmer condemns ‘lies and misinformation’ as he hits back at Musk
(about 5 hours later)
PM also criticises politicians ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ amid row over action on child sexual exploitationPM also criticises politicians ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ amid row over action on child sexual exploitation
Keir Starmer has said the online debate about child sexual exploitation is based on lies with politicians “jumping on the bandwagon simply to get attention” as he hit back at Elon Musk. Keir Starmer has condemned Elon Musk’s increasingly erratic attacks on the government, suggesting that his “lies and misinformation” on grooming gangs was amplifying the “poison” of the far right.
Responding to questions about social media posts from the billionaire Tesla owner, Starmer said a line had been crossed when the safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, and others received serious threats as a result of the “poison of the far right”. The prime minister angrily criticised Tory politicians for “jumping on the bandwagon” by calling for a national inquiry into the scandal when they failed to implement any of the recommendations of a major report while in power. He accused them of being more interested in themselves than supporting victims.
The prime minister rejected calls for another review into the Oldham rape gang cases because he said the “utterly sickening” issue did not need any more consultations, it just needed action. Ministers on Monday promised to introduce a key demand of Prof Alexis Jay’s 2022 child sex abuse inquiry so that professionals who work with children will face sanctions if they fail to report claims of sexual abuse under a law to be introduced this year.
He said a line had been crossed when Musk suggested Phillips deserved “to be in prison” for denying requests for the Home Office to open a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in the town, and called her a “rape genocide apologist”. Starmer, the target of wild criticism from Musk on his social media platform X, said the debate on the issue had now “crossed a line” with threats against MPs including the safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, who the billionaire called a “rape genocide apologist” and demanded should be jailed.
Starmer was launching government plans to tackle NHS waiting lists when he was asked about Musk’s attacks on Phillips, and also the billionaire’s claims that the prime minister should be in prison. Musk has claimed that Starmer was “complicit in the rape of Britain”. Responding to his comments on Monday, the billionaire described the prime minister as “utterly despicable” and said he was “deeply complicit in the mass rapes in exchange for votes”.
He expressed his concerns about the future direction of the Conservative party under Kemi Badenoch, given the Tories did not condemn Musk’s comments about Phillips. The prime minister’s condemnation was part of a growing chorus of European criticism of Musk, including from the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who accused the world’s richest man of intervening directly in the continent’s democratic processes.
Speaking on a visit to Epsom hospital in Surrey, Starmer said: “Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible, they’re not interested in victims. They’re interested in themselves. Some in the UK government had urged caution amid concerns over the destabilising role that Musk, a close ally of Donald Trump who has been asked to become a special adviser to the incoming US president, could potentially play in transatlantic relations going forward.
“Those who are cheerleading [the far-right activist] Tommy Robinson are not interested in justice. They’re supporting a man who went to prison for nearly collapsing a grooming case, a gang grooming case. These are people trying to get some kind of vicarious thrill from street violence that people like Tommy Robinson promote.” However, Starmer unleashed his ire on Musk – who has endorsed the far-right activist Tommy Robinson – and Tory politicians in his first public appearance of the new year, a speech in south-east England on the future of the NHS.
Expressing his support for his safeguarding minister, the prime minister said: “And those attacking Jess Phillips, whom I’m proud to call a colleague and a friend, on protecting victims – Jess Phillips has done 1,000 times more than they’ve even dreamt about when it comes to protecting victims of sexual abuse throughout her entire career.” “Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible, they’re not interested in victims. They’re interested in themselves,” he told reporters.
He added: “We’ve seen this playbook many times, whipping up of intimidation and threats of violence, hoping that the media will amplify it. “I enjoy the cut and thrust of politics, the robust debate that we must have, but that’s got to be based on facts and truth, not on lies, not on those who are so desperate for attention that they’re prepared to debase themselves and their country.
“Jess Phillips does not need me or anybody else to speak on her behalf. But when the poison of the far right leads to serious threats to Jess Phillips and others, that in my book [means] a line has been crossed.” “What I won’t tolerate is politicians jumping on the bandwagon simply to get attention, when those politicians sat in government for 14 long years – tweeting, talking, but not doing anything about it – now so desperate for attention that they’re amplifying what the far right is saying.”
Starmer also defended his record as director of public prosecutions (DPP), which has been called into question in the online debate on child sexual exploitation. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, accused Starmer of “smearing” people who were concerned about grooming gangs, adding: “That such a huge scandal could occur should prompt soul-searching not ranting that those of us who care about it are ‘the far right’.”
He said: “For many, many years, too many victims have been completely let down; let down by perverse ideas about community relations or by the idea that institutions must be protected above all else. And they’ve not been listened to, and they’ve not been heard. She attempted to exert pressure on the government by announcing that the Tories will try to amend the children’s wellbeing bill this week to require another national inquiry into grooming gangs.
“And when I was chief prosecutor for five years, I tackled that head-on, because I could see what was happening, and that’s why I reopened cases that have been closed and supposedly finished. I brought the first major prosecution of an Asian grooming gang – in the particular case it was in Rochdale, but it was the first of its kind.” Jay, who chaired the independent inquiry into child sex abuse, distanced herself from calls for a new national inquiry, saying it was “critical” that her own recommendations were fully implemented.
He added: “We changed, or I changed, the whole prosecution approach, because I wanted to challenge, and did challenge, the myths and stereotypes that were stopping those victims being heard.” Starmer indicated that he was “not closing my mind” on further action, but admitted that he was “frustrated” by calls for another review when it was action that was now needed. However, his spokesperson would not place a deadline on when this could happen.
He said his record was “not secret” and that he had called for “mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse”, which he claimed “the Tories did nothing about … including when the [Prof Alexis] Jay report came out”. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, told MPs that the introduction of mandatory reporting in England and Wales will be included in the crime and policing bill, which is expected to be introduced to parliament in the spring.
Musk had used his own platform, X, to claim Starmer failed to act against the sex offender Jimmy Savile when he was DPP. The inquiry had called for a new criminal offence after it heard evidence that some professionals in a position of trust – including teachers, doctors, priests and social workers – had failed to act upon young people’s claims of abuse or further investigate their colleagues’ suspicions.
Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “People have had enough of Elon Musk interfering with our country’s democracy when he clearly knows nothing about Britain. It’s time to summon the US ambassador to ask why an incoming US official is suggesting the UK government should be overthrown. Similar plans were supposed to be introduced by the Tories last year as part of the criminal justice bill but were heavily criticised for being “watered down” by campaigners and lawyers.
“This dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric is further proof that the UK can’t rely on the Trump administration, and it’s in our national interest to rebuild trade and security ties with our allies in Europe.” The home secretary also disclosed that the government plans to introduce a victims and survivors panel to oversee reforms, make grooming an aggravating factor in child sexual offences and establish a core dataset for child abuse and protection.
John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, said Musk’s attacks on Phillips were “completely and utterly reprehensible”, and backed Starmer’s criticisms of the US billionaire’s recent social media posts on UK politics. In a sharp attack upon the previous government’s record, Cooper said: “This measure is something I first called for in response to the reports and failings in Rotherham 10 years ago. It’s something that the prime minister first called for 12 years ago based on his experience as director of public prosecutions, and the case was clear then. But we’ve lost a decade, and we need to get on with it now.”
Speaking to reporters in Edinburgh, Swinney said the best defence against the surge of far-right populism that Musk appeared to be fuelling was for mainstream politicians to repair the UK economy, improve public services and reverse the damage caused by 14 years of austerity. Starmer defended his own record as former director of public prosecutions, a role he held for five years from 2008, after Musk accused him of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” for failing to tackle grooming gangs during his tenure, even though he in fact took a tougher approach.
He said UK political leaders should also review party funding laws to ensure that foreign donors were not able to influence UK elections – a reference to speculation that Musk and other overseas billionaires are planning to fund Reform UK. “For many, many years, too many victims have been completely let down by perverse ideas about community relations, or by the idea that institutions must be protected above all else, and they’ve not been listened to, and they’ve not been heard,” he said.
“I changed the whole prosecution approach, because I wanted to challenge the myths and stereotypes that were stopping those victims being hurt. So we changed the entire approach, not without criticism at the time, I might add, but when I left office, we had the highest number of child sexual abuse cases being prosecuted on record.”
He also expressed his support for Jess Phillips, who he said had done “1,000 times more than they’ve even dreamt about” on protecting victims of sexual abuse throughout her career.
“We’ve seen this playbook many times, whipping up of intimidation and threats of violence, hoping that the media will amplify it,” he added. A 39-year-old man, Jack Bennett, from Devon, has been charged with sending malicious communications to the safeguarding minister.
Musk’s latest attacks on the UK government come after he called for Nigel Farage to be replaced as the leader of Reform UK, just hours after the rightwing politician had described the billionaire as a “hero”, in a preview of how a chaotic Trump administration could affect British politics.