The UK Prime Minister hit back at the ‘claims’ and said that the persons demanding an inquiry and alleging his failure were ‘misjudged and certainly misinformed’. He, however, said that the government was ready to work with the American billionaire Elon Musk to tackle the issue.
“Some of the criticisms that Elon Musk has made, I think, are misjudged and certainly misinformed. But we’re willing to work with Elon Musk. I think he’s got a big role to play with his social media platform to help us and other countries to tackle this serious issue. So, if he wants to work with us, roll his sleeves up. We’d welcome that,” said UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting responding to the criticism.
Meanwhile, Starmer commented on the issue and said that Musk was spreading lies and misinformation. “Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible, they are not interested in victims, they are interested in themselves,” he said.
“Child sexual exploitation is utterly sick, utterly sick, and 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,” he added.
Speaking out on rape torture gangs is not "jumping on a bandwagon of the far right".
— Andrew RT Davies (@AndrewRTDavies) January 6, 2025
Starmer must retract and apologise. pic.twitter.com/zTtvQNzv1Y
Starmer said it was akin to ‘jumping on a bandwagon of the far right’ over clamour surrounding child sexual abuse by Pakistani grooming gangs. “I like the cut and thrust of politics but that has got to be based on facts and truth, not on lies,” he said. Starmer meanwhile also highlighted Musk’s association with Donald Trump and jailed far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson stating that he had tackled the crime “head on” as director of public prosecutions (DPP).
Globally renowned author JK Rowling known for her advocacy of women’s gender rights also emphasized that grooming gangs should be called ‘rape gangs’ and also called the allegations of police complicity in the horrific crimes against women and girls in the UK ‘beyond belief’.
“The details emerging about what the rape gangs (why call them ‘grooming’ gangs? It’s like calling those who stab people to death ‘knife owners’) did to girls in Rotherham are downright horrific. The allegations of possible police corruption in the case are almost beyond belief,” Rowling wrote on X. The issue emerged recently when Home Office Minister Jess Phillips denied Oldham Council’s plea for a government-led inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation.
The details emerging about what the rape gangs (why call them 'grooming' gangs? It's like calling those who stab people to death 'knife owners') did to girls in Rotherham are downright horrific. The allegations of possible police corruption in the case are almost beyond belief. https://t.co/0SVoxuqw6K
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 2, 2025
The issue of child sexual abuse at the hands of grooming gangs led by British Pakistani men has been a serious issue demanding attention for years. In the late 90s, young girls, a minimum of 11 were picked up, raped, beaten, sold, and even killed by grooming gangs or rape gangs for a full forty years. One of the exposures in a similar instance in Rotherham found that 1,400 children had been sexually abused over 16 years by British Pakistani men. A detailed report on this case can be read here.