Tories seek national probe into child rape gangs as Musk spat with Starmer escalates

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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, conservatives called for a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation.

Tory leader Kimi Badenoch Thursday said a full investigation into the grooming scandal in the north of England, which was uncovered in 2013, was “long overdue”.

“There have been trials all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dot,” Badenoch said at X, adding that 2025 must be the year that “victims start getting justice”.

Tory frontbenchers Chris Philp and Alicia Kearns later wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper demanding a national inquiry. But they did not comment on why the Conservatives did not conduct such an inquiry when they were in government.

A Labor spokesman said the party already supported a national overarching inquiry into reported child abuse in 2022 and local independent inquiries into specific cities.

“This government is working urgently to strengthen the law so that these crimes are properly reported and investigated,” the spokesperson added.

The controversy erupted after Musk launched inflammatory claims against Starmer over his role in prosecuting perpetrators of the scam.

The tech billionaire has been increasingly critical of the British government in recent months, comparing it to Joseph Stalin’s Russia. He has supported Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party and last month Germany’s far-right has backed the AfD.

Thursday, musk He wrote on social media site X, which he owns: “In the UK, police need the approval of the Crown Prosecution Service to charge suspects with serious crimes such as rape. Who was the head of CPS when gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing prosecution? Care Starmer, 2008-2013.”

However, it was Starmer, when director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013, who launched the Rochdale grooming gang trial in his final year in office, shortly after the scandal first came to light in the city of Greater Manchester.

In addition, Starmer has launched a review of the way the CPS investigates sexual abuse in order to bring more perpetrators to justice. The reforms also paved the way for historical case reviews.

Musk claimed that Security Minister Jess Phillips was “refusing to investigate the rape ring” to protect Starmer, following a report this week that the government had rejected Oldham Council’s request for a Home Office-led inquiry into historic child sex abuse in the town.

Phillips said in a letter to the local authority that he believed it was the council itself that had “decided to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally rather than government intervention”, according to GB News.

Officials confirmed it was the Government’s view that local authorities are best placed to conduct local investigations, citing the precedent of investigations in Rotherham and Telford, other towns affected by gang-related child sexual abuse.

Also the watchdog responsible for inspecting police forces in England and Wales, the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, is carrying out an independent review of child sexual exploitation in Greater Manchester, including police conduct and 10 councils handling such cases.

The SpaceX founder also called for the release of far-right activist Tommy Robinson – founder of the English Defense League and former member of the British National Party – from prison, and reposted 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 personal attacks by the billionaire against Starmer, after he was labeled a “two-tier kear” during the summer riots last year, supporting a theory popular online that right-wing activists are being treated more harshly by police. People from ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK.

The Home Office said: “No child should ever be sexually abused or exploited. Everyone responsible for children’s welfare must learn from past mistakes and do all they can to prevent future failures.”