Grooming gang victims spoke out today to call for a public enquiry into the scandals and tougher sentences for abuses amid a social media war waged against Sir Keir Starmer by Elon Musk.
The row began yesterday after Jess Phillips rejected a request by Oldham Council for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation, suggesting it would be best for the local council to investigate the issue instead.
Mr Musk, 53, has said Ms Phillips ‘deserves to be in prison’, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said a full national inquiry into organised grooming gangs is ‘long overdue’.
Sarah Wilson, a survivor of sex abuse in Rotherham, has now spoken out in favour of a new probe, writing on X: ‘Jess Phillips needs to hang her head in shame!!! Anyone who denies an independent investigation has a lot to hide.’
While the proposed public inquiry would have focused on Oldham, grooming gangs have been exposed in numerous other parts of the country ranging from Newcastle to Oxford and Bristol. The abusers were predominantly Asian men.
Ms Wilson was groomed and raped by paedophiles in Rotherham for five years from the age of 11, and went on to write a book about her horrific experience called Violated.
Sammy Woodhouse, another victim of grooming gangs in the South Yorkshire town, called for ‘action’ against professionals, including police and social workers, who failed to stop the abuse.
She told LBC: ‘We have report, after report, after report telling us the same thing. We know what’s happening in this country because people like myself have been giving thousands of interviews to the mainstream media telling you about it.
Sarah Wilson, a survivor of sex abuse in Rotherham, has spoken out in favour of an ‘independent investigation’ into grooming gangs
Sammy Woodhouse, another victim of grooming gangs in the South Yorkshire town, called for ‘action’ against professionals, including police and social workers, who failed to stop the abuse
‘What’s not happening is action – there’s not enough paedophiles being taken through the courts and when they are they’re walking free. There’s no professionals being held to account.
‘If you look at all the damning evidence that Rotherham exposed, there’s not been one professional held to account. All my complaints were upheld, I named them but unfortunately no action is being taken against them.
‘I don’t think people are going to take this seriously until this happens.’
Ms Phillips said she recognised the ‘strength of feeling’ for a Home Office-led inquiry into Oldham, but she told the local council the Government will not ‘intervene’.
‘I believe it is for Oldham Council alone to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the Government to intervene,’ she said.
In response, Mr Musk, a key member of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle, said: ‘She deserves to be in prison.’
He also appeared to place blame at the Prime Minister’s door.
Mr 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.’
Elon Musk has repeatedly attacked Sir Keir Starmer on social media in recent days
In a series of posts on his social media site, Mr Musk described the Prime Minister as ‘two-tier Keir’, claiming there was ‘no justice for severe, violent crimes but prison for social media posts’.
Senior Tories also sought to put pressure on the Government over grooming gangs.
Mrs Badenoch said: ‘The time is long overdue for a full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal.
‘Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots. 2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice.’
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp and shadow safeguarding minister Alicia Kearns pressed for a statutory inquiry in Oldham.
They said that only a public inquiry ‘can adequately encompass the national nature of these crimes and issues’ and consider whether reports were ignored by the police, CPS and local council ‘or even covered up’.
In 2022, the then-Conservative government also refused a request for a public inquiry into events in Oldham.
In his latest attacks on Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Musk shared a post asking whether Charles ‘should dissolve parliament and order a General Election… for the sake and security’ of Britain.
Today, Nazir Afzal, a former chief prosecution who played a key role in prosecuting the grooming gang in Rochdale, rejected calls for a public inquiry.
‘For those of you suggesting a national public inquiry into so called grooming gangs will deliver accountability, do you know that the grand total of people brought to justice following the Hillsborough, Grenfell, Post Office, Infected Blood & Bloody Sunday public inquiries is ONE?’ he wrote on X.
An Oldham Council spokesman said: ‘Survivors sit at the heart of our work to end child sexual exploitation.
‘Whatever happens in terms of future inquiries, we have promised them that their wishes will be paramount, and we will not renege on that pledge.’
Responding to Mrs Badenoch’s post, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: ‘Talk is cheap. The Conservatives had 14 years in government to launch an inquiry.
‘The establishment has failed the victims of grooming gangs on every level.’
Mr Musk, who is rumoured to be considering a major donation to Mr Farage’s party, responded: ‘Exactly. Time for Reform.’
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, which published its final report in 2022, described the sexual abuse of children as an ‘epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake’.
Led by Professor Alexis Jay, the inquiry looked into abuse by organised groups following multiple convictions of sexual offences against children across the UK between 2010-2014, including in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said a full national inquiry into organised grooming gangs is ‘long overdue’
In November last year, Professor Jay said she felt ‘frustrated’ that none of the probe’s 20 recommendations had been implemented more than two years after its conclusion.
Mr Musk last night went as far as to back a call for King Charles to dissolve Parliament and order a new general election.
Today, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the billionaire’s attacks on the UK Government’s handling of child grooming gangs are ‘misjudged and certainly misinformed’, but urged him to work with ministers on tackling the issue.
Pressed if Mr Musk’s comments were unhelpful, Mr Streeting replied: ‘This Government takes the issue of child sexual exploitation incredibly seriously.
‘We’ve seen harrowing reports and experiences of abuse of victims who’ve been brave enough to come forward and speak up about the appalling crimes that they’ve been subjected to.
‘We’ve also seen those brave whistleblowers who’ve been willing to speak up, and frankly, we’ve seen some shocking examples of how political correctness was able to get in the way of going after perpetrators of these serious crimes.
‘We’re not going to let that happen. This Government is committed to implementing the recommendations of the inquiry into child sexual abuse. We will do that in full. We will get on with the job.
‘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.’
A Labour spokesman said the Government is ‘working at pace to implement the recommendations’ in Professor Jay’s report.
The spokesman added: ‘We have supported both the national overarching inquiry into child abuse which reported in 2022, and local independent inquiries and reviews including in Telford, Rotherham and Greater Manchester.
‘This Government is working urgently to strengthen the law so that these crimes are properly reported and investigated.
‘In Oldham the crimes committed by grooming gangs were horrific. Young girls were abused in the most cruel and sadistic way.
‘Victims and the community need to know that all steps are taken to deliver justice and protect children properly in the future.
‘We will welcome and support an independent investigation commissioned by Oldham Council which puts victims’ voices at its heart, following the examples of Telford and Rotherham.
‘We also continue to support wider work commissioned by mayor Andy Burnham into child protection issues across Greater Manchester, following the review into historic safeguarding issues in Oldham which was published in 2022.’