Jess Phillips has said Elon Musk “knows absolutely nothing” about the grooming gangs after the owner of X attacked her on social media.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the Home Office minister said her life had been put in danger after Musk branded her a “rape genocide apologist”.
She said protections were now in place for her safety.
This came after Phillips decided to decline a Whitehall-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in Oldham.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the Home office minister said her life had been put in danger after Musk branded her a “rape genocide apologist”
Getty
She called Musk’s comments “ridiculous,” and said: “My immediate thought was like just, it’s sort of like, what a joke. And then the realisation of what this is probably going to mean for you.”
She added: “The thing that annoys me the most about it is it takes up so much bandwidth of my time from a man who knows absolutely nothing about the subject he’s talking about, when the only thing I ever want to be doing is being able to use all of my brain power to focus on the hundreds of girls I have supported over the years who have been victims of grooming gangs and what needs to happen to make their lives better and to stop what is still happening today.”
Speaking to Sky News, Phillips said she was very upset at political figures such as Kemi Badenoch who pushed for a national inquiry after Musk launched his online attack.
She stated: “I am really, really angry because some of the people who are now claiming to be the virtuous, flag bearers of these victims, well, I’m going to listen to the victims, and I won’t rule out anything.”
MORE LIKE THIS:
- Elon Musk wades into explosive grooming gangs row after GB News exclusive
- MAPPED: The 50 towns and cities in Britain rocked by grooming gangs abuse – is YOUR area included?
- ‘You need to reconsider!’ Phillips faces more grooming gang fury after GB News exclusive sparks Tory demands for full-scale national inquiry
“And so I will listen to them, not to a man who spreads misinformation.”
Professor Alexis Jay, who led the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, also weighed in, claiming “the time has passed” for another examination of grooming gangs.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, she said the row between ministers and Musk was “distracting from the issue”.
She said: “I think that the time has passed for more inquiries. We’ve had enough of inquiries, consultations and discussions, and especially for those victims and survivors who’ve had the courage to come forward, and they clearly want action.”
Professor Alexis Jay, who led the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, also weighed in
PA
“We have set out what action is required and people should just get on with it. Locally and nationally.”
Although she refused to comment on whether she believed Musk knew about what was happening in Oldham, she did acknowledge that plants for new legislation announced by Yvette Cooper had happened quicker than they might otherwise have done.
While Jay’s inquiry noted that many high-profile child sexual exploitation cases involved groups from minority ethnic communities, a lack of data means it is “impossible to know whether any particular ethnic group is over-represented as perpetrators of child sexual exploitation by networks”.
Meanwhile, Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Pakistani men are “over-represented in those who are involved in the grooming gangs,” stating he will not “tiptoe” around the issue.