Elon Musk has become even more unpopular in the UK as a result of his interventions on the child grooming gangs row, according to a new poll.
The world’s richest man has gone on the attack over the government’s response to the issue.
He described safeguarding minister Jess Phillips as a “rape genocide apologist” who should be in jail, and accused Keir Starmer of being “complicit” over his role as former head of the Crown Prosecution Service.
But a poll by YouGov has found that the British public’s already-low opinion of Musk has fallen even further since he intervened in the row.
Some 71% now have an unfavourable opinion of the X owner, up seven points since November, compared to just 20% who have a favourable view.
That puts his overall favourability at -51, down five points in the last two months.
In addition, more than two-thirds of the public - 69% - do not trust Musk at all over the grooming gangs scandal.
The only group who have a favourable view of Musk are Reform UK voters, with 51% holding a positive opinion of him.
However, the number of them with a negative opinion of him has soared from 24% in November to 41% now after he called for Nigel Farage to be replaced as the party’s leader.
Elsewhere, the poll found that 76% of the public want a national inquiry into grooming gangs, as demanded by both Farage and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
However, 51% of the country say implementing the findings of Professor Alexis Jay’s inquiry into child sexual abuse, which reported back in 2022, is a more immediate priority than holding a fresh probe.