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The Conservatives have called for a national inquiry into child sexual abuse, after Elon Musk accused Sir Keir Starmer of failing to bring gang rapes to justice when he was head of the prosecution service more than a decade ago.
The Tory leader Kemi Badenoch On Thursday he said a full review was “long overdue” into allegations of grooming in the north of England that first came to light in 2013.
“Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots,” Badenoch told X, adding that 2025 should be the year “victims begin to receive justice”.
Tory frontbenchers Chris Philp and Alicia Kearns later wrote to home secretary Yvette Cooper demanding a national inquiry. But they did not talk about why the Conservatives did not set up such an inquiry while in government.
A Labor spokesman said the party had already backed a wider national inquiry into reported child abuse by 2022, as well as independent local inquiries in some towns.
“This government is working urgently to strengthen the law so that these crimes are properly reported and investigated,” added the spokesperson.
The complaint erupted after Musk launched inflammatory claims at Starmer about his role in prosecuting the perpetrators of the scandal.
The tech billionaire has been highly critical of the British government in recent months, comparing it to Joseph Stalin's Russia. He endorsed Nigel Farage's Reform UK party last month as well supports Germany's AfD.
Thursday, Musk wrote in X, a social justice court he owns: “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the consent of the Prosecution Service for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of CPS when gangs were allowed to abuse young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013.
However, it was Starmer, while director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013, who began the prosecution of the Rochdale gang in his last year in office, shortly after the scandal in the capital city of Manchester was first revealed.
In addition, Starmer initiated an overhaul of the way CPS investigates sexual abuse to ensure that more perpetrators are brought to justice. The reform also opened the way for historical cases to be reconsidered.
Musk said defense minister Jess Phillips “refuses to investigate gang-rapes” to protect Starmer, after reports this week that the government had rejected Oldham Council's request for a Home Office-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in the town.
Phillips said in a letter to local councilors that he believed it was because the council itself had “decided to investigate child sexual abuse in the community, rather than government intervention”, according to GB News.
Officials confirmed that it was the government's view that local authorities should authorize domestic inquiries, citing the example of investigations in Rotherham and Telford, other towns ravaged by child sexual abuse.
In addition to the watchdog responsible for inspecting the police in England and Wales, the Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, is conducting an independent review on the sexual exploitation of children in Greater Manchester, including the conduct of the police and 10. councils in handling such cases.
The SpaceX founder also called on right-wing activist Tommy Robinson – founder of the English Defense League and former member of the British National Party – to be released from prison, and again sent messages claiming he was a “political prisoner”.
Robinson, a convicted fraudster whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed for 18 months in October after pleading guilty to contempt of court by making false claims about a Syrian refugee.
Downing Street declined to comment on Musk's latest outburst on Thursday, with one official saying the prime minister was focused on governance.
It was the latest in a string of attacks by the billionaire against Starmer, after he called him a “two-tier Keir” during the summer riots last year, supporting a popular internet theory that right-wing activists are being treated more harshly by the police. people from minority ethnic backgrounds in the UK.
The Home Office said: “No child should be sexually abused or exploited. Everyone responsible for the welfare of children must learn from the mistakes of the past and do everything possible to prevent failure in the future.”