Ms Phillips says Mr Musk knows "absolutely nothing" about child sexual abuse scandals. (Reuters: John Sibley)
In short:
A British minister has criticised Elon Musk for his recent comments on child sexual abuse scandals in the UK.
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillip says Mr Musk knows "absolutely nothing" about the subject.
It comes after Mr Musk's barrage of comments on X accusing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute gangs of men who raped young girls.
A British minister who Elon Musk has described as a "rape genocide apologist" says the US billionaire knows "absolutely nothing" about the child sexual abuse scandals he has recently been commenting on.
Mr Musk, an ally of US president-elect Donald Trump, has spent days posting messages on his social media site X accusing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute gangs of men who raped young girls when Mr Starmer was director of public prosecutions.
The tech mogul has also attacked Mr Starmer's safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, describing her as a "rape genocide apologist" who should be in jail.
Ms Phillips has spent much of her career working with victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking.
Keir Starmer slams 'lies' after online attacks from Elon Musk
Photo shows Keir Starmer in a white shirt with sleeves rolled up and blue tie at a white lectern in front of women in blue and yellow tops
Mr Musk and opposition politicians have called for a new national inquiry into the scandals after Ms Phillips told the council of a town where sex abuse cases were reported that it should hold its own investigation.
Other investigations into child abuse scandals have been carried out in different areas of northern England.
In 2022, a broader nationwide public inquiry into child sexual abuse made a number of recommendations that have not been implemented.
Mr Starmer defended his work as Britain's top prosecutor on Monday, addressing Mr Musk's criticism.
He said, "those spreading lies and misinformation … are not interested in victims" but "are interested in themselves".
Ms Phillips calls comments 'ridiculous'
Speaking to broadcaster ITV, Ms Phillips said Mr Musk's "ridiculous" comments turned her "world upside down".
"It's not great and the thing that annoys me the most about it is that it takes so much bandwidth of my time from a man who knows absolutely nothing about the subject he is talking about," she said.
Elon Musk calls for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to quit
Photo shows A composite image showing the faces of Elon Musk and Nigel Farage
Sky News reported on Monday a man had been charged following threats towards Ms Phillips.
In another interview with Sky News, Ms Phillips said she had dedicated her life to fighting child exploitation and it was "painful" to watch it become "political football".
Responding to Mr Starmer's criticism, Mr Musk said on X the prime minister was "deeply complicit in the mass rapes in exchange for votes", adding "that's what the inquiry would show".
Reuters
