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Conservatives have called for a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation 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.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said on Thursday that a full investigation was “overdue” into care scandals in the north of England that began to emerge in 2013.
“Trials have been taking place all over the country in recent years, but nobody in authority has connected the dots,” Badenoch told X, adding that 2025 should be the year “victims start getting justice”.
Conservative MPs Chris Philp and Alicia Kearns later wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper calling for a national inquiry. But they did not comment on why the Conservatives had not launched such an inquiry while in government.
A Labor spokesman said the party had already backed a national inquiry into child abuse that was reported in 2022, and independent local inquiries in individual cities.
“This government is working urgently to strengthen the law so that these crimes are properly reported and investigated,” the spokesman added.
The row erupted after Musk made inflammatory allegations against Starmer about his role in prosecuting perpetrators in the scandal.
The tech billionaire has been increasingly critical of the British government in recent months, comparing it to Joseph Stalin’s Russia. He has backed Nigel Farage’s UK Reform party and last month backed Germany’s far-right AfD.
On Thursday, Musk wrote on X, the social media site he owns: “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the approval of the Crown Prosecution Service for 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.
However, it was Starmer, while director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013, who launched the prosecution of the Rochdale care gang during his last year in office, soon after the Greater Manchester scandal, which became the first that came to light.
In addition, Starmer launched a review of how the CPS investigates sexual abuse to ensure more perpetrators are brought to justice. The reforms also paved the way for the review of historical cases.
Musk claimed defense minister Jess Phillips was “refusing to investigate gang-rapes” 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 sexual abuse in city.
Phillips said in a letter to the local authority that she believed it was for the council itself to “decide to carry out an investigation into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than the government stepping in”, according to GB News.
Officials confirmed it was the government’s view that local authorities are best suited to carry out local investigations, citing the precedent of investigations in Rotherham and Telford, other towns ravaged by gang-related child sexual abuse.
In addition, the watchdog with responsibility for inspecting police forces in England and Wales, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Safety and Fire and Rescue Services, is carrying out an independent review into child sexual exploitation in Greater Manchester, including police behavior and 10 tips for handling such cases.
The SpaceX founder also called for far-right activist Tommy Robinson – founder of the English Defense League and a former member of the British National party – to be released 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 admitting contempt of court by making repeated false claims about a Syrian refugee.
Downing Street declined to comment on Musk’s latest outburst on Thursday, with an official saying the prime minister was focused on governing.
It was the latest in a string of personal attacks from the billionaire against Starmer after he labeled her a “two-tier Keir” during the summer riots last year, endorsing a popular online theory that right-wing activists are being treated more harshly by police than people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK.
The Home Office said: “No child should ever suffer sexual abuse or exploitation. All those responsible for the welfare of children must learn from the mistakes of the past and do everything possible to prevent future failures.”
