by Katarina Demon
LONDON (Reuters) – A British minister branded a “rape genocide apologist” by Elon Musk said on Tuesday the U.S. billionaire knew “absolutely nothing” about the child sex abuse scandals he recently commented on.
Musk, an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, has been posting messages on his social network X for days accusing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to investigate gangs of men who raped young girls when Starmer was director of public prosecutions in 2008. since 2013 year.
Musk also attacked Starmer’s defense minister, Jess Phillips, calling him a “rape genocide apologist” who should be in jail. Phillips has spent much of her career working with victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and human trafficking.
Musk and opposition politicians have called for a new national inquiry into the scandals after Phillips told the city council where the sexual assault cases were reported that it should conduct its own investigation.
Other investigations into child abuse scandals have taken place in various areas of northern England. A wider national public inquiry into child sexual abuse, including in churches and schools, was reported in 2022, with a number of recommendations that have yet to be implemented.
Starmer defended his work as Britain’s chief prosecutor on Monday, addressing Musk’s criticism, saying “those who spread lies and misinformation … don’t care about the victims, they care about themselves.”
while talking to the broadcaster ITV (LON: ), Phillips said Musk’s comments, which he described as “ridiculous”, had “turned my world upside down”.
“It’s not great, and what annoys me the most is that so much bandwidth of my time is being taken up by someone who knows absolutely nothing about the subject he’s talking about,” Phillips said.
Sky News reported on Monday that a man had been charged for making threats against Phillips. Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed the man had been charged with three counts of misconduct between April 2024 and January 2025, but did not name the victim.
In another interview with Sky News, Phillips said she had dedicated her life to fighting child exploitation and it was “painful” to see it become a “political football”.
Responding to Starmer’s criticism, Musk said on X that the prime minister was “deeply complicit in mass rapes for votes,” adding: “That’s what the investigation shows.”