Elon Musk's comments on UK grooming gangs 'misjudged' and 'misinformed', minister says
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Elon Musk has made "misinformed" and "misjudged" comments about the government's response to grooming gangs in the UK, the health secretary has said. Wes Streeting also urged the tech billionaire and owner of X to "roll his sleeves up" and help the government tackle child sex abuse and exploitation online.
Mr Streeting was asked about the increasingly active interest Mr Musk has taken in British politics - he will also become US president-elect Donald Trump's efficiency tsar this month. Mr Musk, who has spoken positively about Reform UK on X and is reportedly considering making a donation to Nigel Farage's party, has been critical of the government's handling of child sexual exploitation across a number of towns and cities more than a decade ago.
He has claimed Sir Keir Starmer had failed to bring "rape gangs" to justice when he led the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). In 2013, Sir Keir introduced new guidelines for how child sexual abuse victims should be treated and how a case should be built and presented in court.
Mr Musk also argued that safeguarding minister Jess Phillips "deserves to be in prison" after she rejected requests from Oldham Council for a national inquiry into instances of child sexual exploitation in the town. Asked by reporters whether Mr Musk's comments were "unhelpful", Mr Streeting said: "Some of the criticisms that Elon Musk has made, I think are a misjudged and and certainly misinformed.
