UK PM Starmer responds to Musk's accusations against child grooming gangs: "Misinformation and falsehoods"

On Monday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended his handling of the child grooming gang scandal, which has been under increased scrutiny due to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's recent attacks.

Starmer stated that those spreading false information are not concerned about victims but rather their own interests, in response to questions about Musk's remarks, without mentioning Musk's name directly.

Last week, the U.K. grooming scandal, which exposed how gangs of predominantly South Asian or British Pakistani men abused children for decades in towns in northern England, resurfaced with fresh calls for a national inquiry.

The failure of multiculturalism and the impact of mass immigration are often cited as reasons for the suppression of information or concerns about stoking racism in towns like Rotherham and Telford, where evidence of horrific crimes against children has been found over decades.

The Home Office Minister, Jess Phillips, responded to Musk's call for a new national inquiry into the handling of authorities' actions in Oldham in October, stating that any such inquiry should be organized locally.

The 2022 report on Oldham's actions from 2011 to 2014 revealed that local agencies failed children, but it also stated that there was no cover-up, despite concerns that the far-right would exploit the high-profile convictions of predominantly Pakistani offenders across the country.

Kemi Badenoch, a top conservative official, joined Musk in demanding a full inquiry. Musk took it a step further and called for King Charles III to intervene.

He stated that the government opposes an inquiry because it will reveal that those in power were involved in the cover-up, according to X.

Musk accused Starmer and Phillips of being "rape genocide apologists" and called for their prosecution during the scandal.

In his defense, Starmer mentioned those comments and stated that he had revived shut cases and altered the entire prosecution strategy regarding abuse.

"If the far-right's poison leads to serious threats to Jess Phillips and others, then in my view, a line has been crossed, Starmer stated. He added that he relishes the cut and thrust of politics and the robust debate that is necessary, but it must be based on facts and truth, not on lies."

Politicians, he claimed, are careless about honesty, decency, truth, and the rule of law, and they call for investigations only to join the bandwagon of the far-right.

Musk shot back.

"Starmer is utterly despicable because he repeatedly ignored the pleas of little girls and their parents to secure political support," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.