UK politics – live: Jess Phillips says her ‘world turned upside down’ by Elon Musk social media attacks
The Tesla boss has launched a series of baseless attacks on the Labour government over grooming gangs
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Your support makes all the difference.Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has spoken about her fears for her safety after Elon Musk unleashed a torrent of abuse against her over the child grooming scandal.
Ms Phillips found herself at the centre of an international storm when she decided not to agree to a national inquiry into child grooming and rape across towns in the north of England because one had already been conducted.
The attacks were led by the X social media platform boss who described her as “a witch” and a “rape genocide apologist”.
Speaking to ITV News, she said: “Of course I worry about my safety. Of course, and you have to, you know, anyone who has worked in the fields of violence against women and girls. Risk is dynamic and I have to take account of the risks in my life and this is one of them currently.”
The Tesla boss has launched a series of baseless attacks on the Labour government over grooming gangs, while also calling for the release of jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson – a development which also saw him turn on Reform leader Nigel Farage on Sunday, claiming he “does not have what it takes” to lead the party.
Israel must act immediately to end man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza, minister says
In the House of Commons, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer has said that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is “man-made” and Israel “must act immediately to address it”.
During an urgent question on the situation in northern Gaza, he told MPs: “The UK condemns Israel’s restriction on aid in the strongest terms. The scale of human suffering is unimaginable. We have been clear this is a man-made crisis, and Israel must act immediately to address it.”
He added: “Air strikes within the designated humanitarian zone show there are no safe spaces left for civilians. Reports of up to eight children having died from cold weather conditions are unconscionable.
“It is unacceptable that many medical facilities are no longer in use or are inaccessible to humanitarian actors and we remain deeply concerned by reports of medics being killed or injured. I have raised this, and will continue to raise this with both the Israeli deputy foreign minister and Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.”
Following shouts of “they don’t care” from opposition benches, Mr Falconer said: “The foreign secretary, working with his French and German counterparts, wrote to the government of Israel in November to press them to ensure adequate preparations for winter.”
Watch | Elon Musk’s father believes ‘good chance’ Tommy Robinson will be prime minister one day
Full report: Chair of child sex abuse inquiry denounces Musk over grooming gangs
Keir Starmer has received a boost in his grooming gangs row with Elon Musk after the head of the national child sex abuse inquiry backed the prime minister.
Professor Alexis Jay backed Sir Keir by saying there is no need for a new national investigation into the issue.
In a pointed intervention the chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) said those “whipping up” the current furore do not have the interests of victims at heart. Instead of demanding a new inquiry they should “step up to the mark” and implement measures already recommended to tackle the problem.
In her first comments since Musk, backed by the Tories, launched a ferocious attack on Starmer, Prof Jay told the BBC: “I have heard very little in the public discourse that has taken place in the last few days – if you can dignify it with that description – that has mentioned children and the appalling and lifelong effects that child sexual abuse can have on people.”
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Chair of child sex abuse inquiry denounces Musk over grooming gangs
Prof Alexis Jay has backed Starmer and said there is no need for a national inquiry
No 10 insists new actions to tackle child sex abuse not due to Musk row
Downing Street insisted that action to implement some of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s recommendations had not been taken as a result of the ongoing row on the subject.
Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said: “The government has been working since it came into office on measures to protect children, to halve violence against women and girls.
“On mandatory reporting, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary called for these changes 10 years ago. Work on the mandatory reporting criminal offence, the write-round for that kicked off last year and obviously has just concluded ahead of the announcement, so obviously that work’s been ongoing for some time.”
He added: “It’s important the government explains to the public how seriously the government is taking this issue, so I think it’s natural in response to the recent coverage the government explains what the government’s been doing in this space.
“As Alexis Jay spoke about... the government has been engaged with her, with victims’ groups, since the election it’s been working on a number of these measures.”
Tory MP warns that UK-US ‘security is too important for clickbait politics'
As Elon Musk continues his social media attacks on the UK government, a Tory MP has warned that UK-US security “is too important for clickbait politics”.
Mark Pritchard wrote on X: “I know the importance of the US/UK security relationship. A partnership that saves American lives everyday.
“UK is, in some respects, the junior partner, but there are skills [and] capabilities where the USA looks to UK for expertise. Security is too important for clickbait politics.”
It comes after Bloomberg reported that senior politicians in Labour, the Tories and Reform have privately urged allies of Donald Trump that the US president-elect should rethink his relationship with Mr Musk in the wake of the latter’s flurry of wild claims.
Reform ‘probably dodged a bullet’ on Musk donation, Tory defector says
Reform has “probably dodged a bullet” in not receiving the multimillion pound reportedly being mulled by Elon Musk, a recent Tory defector to the party has said in the wake of the billionaire’s attack on Nigel Farage.
Tim Montgomerie, founder of the ConservativeHome website who joined Reform last month after 33 years as a Tory member, told BBC Newsnight: “I think Elon Musk is a brilliant man. He’s the Da Vinci of our age in many ways. Look at Tesla, look at SpaceX, look at Twitter.
“But you can’t tweet 20 times in an hour on different subjects and know what you’re talking about all the time. There’s a thin line between craziness and genius, and I think on occasions recently we’ve definitely seen Elon Musk go on the crazy side of that line.
“And I think Reform have probably dodged a bullet. If that had happened a little while ago, they might have had money that they would have had to pay back. Not getting that money now is probably going to turn out to be an advantage. I didn’t think that six weeks ago, but I do now.”
Robert Jenrick clashes with BBC’s Nick Robinson over grooming gang row
Robert Jenrick has defended the Conservatives’ record on bringing justice to victims of the grooming gang scandal during a heated clash with BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Nick Robinson, my colleague Lucy Leeson reports.
The shadow justice secretary was asked four times by the frustrated BBC journalist if he raised tougher sentences for grooming gang perpetrators when he was Home Office minister, between October 2022 and December 2023.
Mr Jenrick replied: “I did discuss this with the home secretary, I wrote about this last year and I was criticised about it.”
Mr Robinson then proceeded to tell the Tory MP he had not raised the issue – after checking search terms such as “grooming”, “grooming gangs”, “Rotherham”, “Oldham”, “Rochdale” and “child sexual abuse” in Hansard and finding no records under Mr Jenrick’s name in the parliamentary record.
When did the row between Sir Keir and Mr Musk begin?
The row between the prime minister and the US tech billionaire had its origins in the riots that took place over summer in England and Northern Ireland.
Misinformation allowed to run rife on Musk’s social media platform X was blamed for helping to fuel racist far-right riots and attacks, sparking a crackdown on inflammatory social media posts associated with the disorder.
In Sir Keir’s first press conference following the violence that broke out in the wake of the Southport stabbings, he issued a direct warning to “large social media companies and those who run them”, saying that “violent disorder was clearly whipped up online.”
"That is also a crime”, the prime minister said. “It is happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere."
In response, Musk zeroed in on the efforts to police incendiary posts, accusing the UK of “two-tier” policing – a far-right claim suggesting police are taking a softer approach with left-wing and Islamic protesters than they are with white working-class protesters.
The row reached its peak after Musk claimed that “civil war is inevitable” in Britain, leading to condemnation from Downing Street, with a spokesperson warning there is “no justification for comments like that”.
While the immediate tension died down after the riots subsided, it was clear damage had been done to the relationship between the UK government and Mr Musk, with the Starmer administration opting not to invite the billionaire to a major investment summit held in London in October.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has more details:
Musk and Starmer: A history of their relationship from summer riots to grooming gangs
Sir Keir Starmer’s latest spat with Elon Musk has its roots in tensions that began months ago
Elon Musk claims his own English grandmother might have been abducted in modern Britain
In his latest intervention, Elon Musk has suggested that his own English grandmother might have been abducted had she lived in modern Britain.
The billionaire wrote on X: “My British grandmother, Cora Amelia Robinson, was an important part of my childhood. She was very strict, but also kind and I could always count on her.
“She grew up very poor in England during the Great Depression only to be bombed in WW2. To earn money for food, she cleaned houses, leaving me with a lasting respect for those who do so.
“My Nana was one of the poor working-class girls with no one to protect her who might have been abducted in present day Britain.”
Badenoch urged to sack Jenrick over ‘immigrants with alien cultures’ comments
Kemi Badenoch has been urged to sack Robert Jenrick after he suggested the Tories could cap immigration from “alien cultures with medieval attitudes towards women”.
Mr Jenrick was condemned on Sunday over his original claim by former Conservative special advisor Samuel Kasumu, who told the BBC his “blood was boiling” over the comments, adding: “I think Robert Jenrick has the potential to be the most divisive person in our political history.”
As the Tory frontbencher doubled down on his remarks on Tuesday, the Liberal Democrats called for Ms Badenoch to sack him.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Badenoch urged to sack Jenrick over ‘immigrants with alien cultures’ comments
Robert Jenrick stood by his claim that Britain has failed at integrating immigrants from some countries, pointing to the grooming gangs scandal as evidence
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