Ex-chief prosecutor rejects Musk’s calls for new child abuse inquiry

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Ex-chief prosecutor rejects Musk’s calls for new child abuse inquiry
Author: Rajeev Syal and Kiran Stacey
Published: Jan, 02 2025 20:00

Nazir Afzal and police whistleblower Maggie Oliver say previous lengthy inquiries were not acted upon. A former chief prosecutor and a police whistleblower who uncovered a notorious paedophile gang have hit back at demands from senior Conservatives and the billionaire Elon Musk for a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation.

Nazir Afzal, the ex-chief prosecutor who was central to successful prosecution of the Rochdale grooming gang, said lengthy and expensive inquiries were not acted upon by the previous Conservative government. Maggie Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester police to speak out about police failings in child exploitation, said she did not want to hear more “empty promises and political manoeuvrings”.

Their comments follow a growing row started by Elon Musk, the billionaire ally of Donald Trump, who called for a national inquiry in the UK and accused Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute child rapists in Oldham in Greater Manchester. Musk’s intervention came as part of a long stream of posts on his own platform, X, late on Wednesday night, which included supportive comments about Tommy Robinson, the far-right activist who is in jail for contempt of court.

Musk began posting after seeing reports that Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, had rejected calls from Oldham council for a public inquiry into child exploitation in the town. Phillips argued that it should be up to local councils to commission new inquiries, sparking criticism from Conservatives including Kemi Badenoch.

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