Why are Elon Musk and Kemi Badenoch calling for a grooming scandal inquiry and why is Labour rejecting it?
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Elon Musk started the new year by posting a tirade of tweets attacking the Prime Minister and the British government over the grooming gangs scandal. The world’s richest man called for a new UK general election and accused Sir Keir Starmer of failing to bring "rape gangs" to justice when he was director of public prosecutions.
Mr Musk, a key ally of US President Donald Trump, also said safeguarding minister Jess Phillips "deserves to be in prison" after she denied requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. But ministers have hit back, branding the Tesla owner’s comments "misjudged and certainly misinformed".
However senior Tory politicians, including leader Kemi Badenoch, have now joined Mr Musk in calling for a full national public inquiry into the UK's "rape gangs scandal". Here is all the background to the inquiries that have been done and why the Home Office Minister has refused calls for a fresh investigation in Oldham.
Mr Musk suggested the recent decision by Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips to reject calls for a Government inquiry into alleged grooming gangs in Oldham was part of a cover up to protect Sir Keir. Instead of the Government leading a probe, Oldham must follow in the footsteps of other towns like Rotherham and Telford and commission its own inquiry into historical abuse of children, Ms Phillips said in a letter to the local council.
The tycoon tweeted: “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service's approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008 -2013.
