Elon Musk’s attacks on the Labour government over its record on child protection are “misjudged and certainly misinformed”, Wes Streeting has said.
The tech billionaire called for safeguarding minister Jess Phillips to be jailed after she rejected calls for a government-led inquiry into grooming gangs in Oldham.
He also suggested that the decision was an attempt to protect Keir Starmer, who he accused of failing to prosecute the gangs when he was head of the Crown Prosecution Service.
Posting on X, the social media platform he owns, Musk said: “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service’s approval for the 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.
“Who is the boss of Jess Phillips right now? Keir Stamer. The real reason she’s refusing to investigate the rape gangs is that it would obviously lead to the blaming of Keir Stamer (head of the CPS at the time).”
Downing Street has refused to be drawn into a fresh of words with Musk, who is a close ally of US president-elect Donald Trump.
But speaking to ITV News, Streeting said: “Some of the criticisms that Elon Musk has made, I think, are misjudged and certainly misinformed.
“But we’re willing to work with Elon Musk, who I think has got a big role to play with his social media platform, to help us and other countries to tackle this serious issue.
“So if he wants to work with us and roll his sleeves up, we’d welcome that.”
Health minister Andrew Gwynne also hit out at Musk, telling LBC: “Elon Musk is an American citizen and perhaps ought to focus on issues on the other side of the Atlantic.”
He added: “There comes a point where we don’t need more inquiries, and had Elon Musk really paid attention to what’s been going on in this country, he might have recognised that there have already been inquiries.”