UK leader hits back at Elon Musk’s ‘lies’ over handling of child sex abuse scandal

By Christian Edwards, CNN

London (CNN) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has criticized those “spreading lies and misinformation” about child sex grooming gangs in the United Kingdom, responding to an online storm whipped up by Elon Musk.

“Those that are spreading lies and misinformation, as far and as wide as possible – they’re not interested in victims, they’re interested in themselves,” Starmer told reporters Monday.

For days, Musk – the world’s richest man and the owner of X – has used his social media platform to dredge up a years-long scandal over historic child sex abuse in parts of England.

In one post, Musk called on King Charles III to dissolve parliament and order new elections in Britain. In another, he called for Starmer’s safeguarding minister, Jess Philips, to be imprisoned, calling her “pure evil” and “a wicked creature.” On Monday, he also said Starmer should be in prison.

“We’ve seen this playbook many times, whipping up of intimidation and threats of violence, hoping that the media will amplify it,” Starmer said.

“When the poison of the far right leads to serious threats to Jess Phillips and others, then in my book, a line has been crossed,” he added.

Starmer said he enjoys “the cut-and-thrust of politics,” but said these debates must “be based on facts and truth, not on lies.”

He also criticized Conservative politicians – some of whom were in government during the grooming scandal – for “jumping on the bandwagon” and being “so desperate for attention that they’re prepared to debase themselves and their country.”

British lawmaker Ed Davey urged the UK government on Monday to summon the US ambassador over Musk’s comments.

“People have had enough of Elon Musk interfering with our country’s democracy when he clearly knows nothing about Britain. It’s time to summon the US ambassador to ask why an incoming US official is suggesting the UK government should be overthrown,” Davey, who serves as the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third largest party in the UK, said in a post on X.

Davey stated that the American ambassador should convey to the US government that those at a senior level need to be “very careful about how they comment on UK affairs, whether they’re the richest man in the world or anyone else.”

Musk has accused Starmer of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” for failing to thwart grooming gangs while he was director of public prosecutions (DPP). Starmer staunchly defended his record as head of the DPP on Monday, saying he changed “the entire approach” that had stopped victims from being heard, and had “the highest number of child sexual abuse cases being prosecuted on record.”

In a 2014 report, it was revealed that about 1,400 children had been abused by gangs of men in the northern English town of Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. The far-right has long capitalized on the scandal, pointing to the South Asian ethnicities of the majority of the gangs’ perpetrators.

Starmer’s government recently rejected a national inquiry into the gangs, citing a string of existing inquiries into the issue and a 2022 report, the findings of which are still being implemented.

Following his success in helping to re-elect Donald Trump in the United States, Musk has increasingly inserted himself into the political discourse of other countries.

Last month, Musk endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, ahead of federal elections to be held in February. As well as a string of posts on social media, Musk penned a weekend op-ed for a major German newspaper, explaining his support for the party, which has been accused of resurrecting Nazi-era ideology and slogans.

In response, the German government accused Musk of “trying to influence” the election. Asked how to respond to Musk’s posts, Olaf Scholz, the embattled German chancellor, told German media: “Don’t feed the troll.”

Musk has also called insistently for new elections in the UK, despite the fact the last election was held just six months ago. He has backed the populist party Reform UK and on Sunday called for its leader Nigel Farage to step down, saying he “does not have what it takes” to lead.

Although Musk did not immediately endorse another candidate, he has previously pushed for the release of Tommy Robinson, an imprisoned far-right agitator. Robinson has previously led far-right parties in the UK and has a swelling social media following.

Speaking Monday, Starmer slammed those “cheerleading” Robinson, who was jailed for 18 months in October after he admitted to being in contempt of court by repeating false accusations about a Syrian refugee.

“They’re supporting a man who went to prison for nearly collapsing a grooming case,” Starmer said of Robinson’s supporters. He said this showed that “they’re not interested in victims, they’re interested in themselves.”

Other European leaders have become increasingly troubled by Musk’s meddling in the politics of other countries. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store on Monday called this a “worrying” development.

French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed disbelief at Musk’s conduct.

“If we had been told the owner of the largest social media network would support an international reactionary movement and directly intervene in elections, including Germany, who would have believed it? This is the world we live in and in which we have to conduct diplomacy,” Macron told French ambassadors in Paris on Monday.

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CNN’s Rob Picheta and Pauline Lockwood contributed reporting.