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Grooming gangs: UK government turns defensive after Elon Musk holds PM Starmer responsible for sexual abuse of children by organised gangs of Pakistani men

Musk has been particularly targeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer with accusations of mismanagement during his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Elon Musk has found himself at odds with the UK government over the sensitive and controversial issue of grooming gangs. Discussions and debates have reignited across various political and social spheres both in the UK and on international platforms after Musk raised the issue, bringing global attention to the organized crime that went on for decades in the UK, with police turning a blind eye.

The controversy stems from Musk’s recent activities on X, where he has been prolifically posting about grooming gangs in the UK, a topic that has historical roots in various child sexual exploitation scandals, notably the Rotherham case. Musk posted nearly a large number of tweets in the first few days of 2025, focusing on the inadequate response by the UK authorities to these crimes. He has been particularly targeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer with accusations of mismanagement during his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Elon Musk has been quite vocal in criticising the British government for failing to act in cases of child sexual abuse in the UK. He termed the rapes as a ‘mass crime’ and accused PM Starmer of being complicit in the crime. Musk said that Starmer must face charges for not taking action against these crimes.

Elon Musk has accused PM Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute these gangs of Pakistan-origin men that systematically groomed and raped young girls. He has also called for the jailing of Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips after she rejected a request for the Home Office to order a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham.

Musk claimed that the real reason why Phillips is refusing to investigate the rape gangs is that it would obviously lead to the blaming of Keir Stamer, who was the head of the Crown Prosecution Service at that time.

However, the UK government has rejected the allegations made by Musk. British Health Secretary Wes Streeting responded to Musk’s criticism by calling them “misjudged and certainly misinformed”. Streeting claimed that the government treats child sexual exploitation very seriously. He also invited Musk to collaborate with the UK in tackling these issues, suggesting that Musk’s platform X could play a significant role in addressing such societal problems.

However, Musk continues to target the British govt over the issue. Expressing a lack of faith in the Starmer government, Musk even called for the dissolution of the UK Parliament by King Charles and asked for holding general elections.

The UK government’s response to Musk’s criticism

Responding to Musk’s statement, Streeting said that the government was willing to work with Elon Musk considering he has a big social media platform to tackle the issue. “We are willing to work with Elon Musk who, I think, has got a big role to play with his social media platform to help us and other countries tackle these serious issues”, he said.

This invitation came amidst Musk’s ongoing criticisms, where he likened the UK’s handling of the situation to that of the Soviet Union, a comparison that has not been well-received by UK officials.

Defending the government on the issue of child sexual abuse, Streeting said that the UK government takes the issue of child sexual abuse very seriously. “This government takes the issue of child sexual exploitation incredibly seriously. We’re seeing harrowing reports and experiences of abuse of victims who have been brave enough to come forward and speak up about the impaling crimes that they have been subjected to”, Streeting said.

The Labour Party has also accused Musk of spreading false information related to the issue.

However, many Torry leaders now support a nationwide comprehensive probe on the issue, instead of local investigations. Many leaders have opposed Jess Phillips for opposing a nationwide probe and suggesting local probe into grooming gangs of Oldham. She has said the Oldham council should commission a local inquiry, as happened in Rotherham and Telford.

What are the Islamic grooming gangs?

Investigations into cases of child sexual abuse in the UK revealed that grooming gangs comprising mostly British-Pakistani men have been sexually exploiting children across cities in the country. In 2023, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak established a task force led by the National Crime Agency to address the grave threat posed by these gangs.

Rochdale, Rotherham, Oxford, Telford, Leeds, Birmingham, Norwich, Burnley, High Wycombe, Leicester, Dewsbury, Middlesbrough, Peterborough, Bristol, Halifax, Newcastle, Huddersfield, and Hull are some of the regions in the United Kingdom where the Islamist grooming gangs sexually exploited children. Last year in November, twenty men were found guilty of raping young girls in the UK and were sentenced to over 219 years in prison.

In 2022, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse published its final report, in which it described the sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”. The inquiry looked into child abuse by organised groups following multiple convictions of sexual offences against children across the UK between 2010-2014.

Professor Alexis Jay, who led the inquiry and uncovered the massive scale of grooming gangs in the UK, has said that she felt “frustrated” that none of the 20 recommendations put forward by the inquiry had been implemented more than two years after its conclusion.

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