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.
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
Calls for general election ballooned after ‘foreign interference’, MP claims
Calls for a general election ballooned after “foreign interference”, a Labour MP has claimed.
Yasmin Qureshi warned the “Call A General Election” petition may have collected some of its 3.02 million signatures as a result of “misinformation” and campaigners abroad.
But Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh suggested dismissing the signatories’ concerns might lead to the rise of “populism”, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned of “utter disenchantment with the entire political system”.
The petition on the House of Commons website, which members of the public can use a UK postcode to sign, reads: “I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election.”
Some MPs in Westminster Hall groaned on Monday when Ms Qureshi said: “This petition has grown, some of it to do with a lot of misinformation, some of it to do with foreign interference. You may laugh at it, but that happens to be correct as well.”
Will Durrant reports:
Calls for general election ballooned after ‘foreign interference’, MP claims
Yasmin Qureshi said the petition may have collected some of its 3.02 million signatures as a result of ‘misinformation’ and campaigners abroad.
Farage says he is meeting constituents regularly in Clacton
Nigel Farage said he has bought a house in Clacton and was “meeting lots of constituents on a regular basis”.
The Reform UK leader has previously been criticised for not holding surgeries in his Essex constituency, with some suggesting he has spent more time abroad than in Clacton. He plans to visit the United States later this month for Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Speaking to LBC, Mr Farage said he was planning a “massive event” for small businesses in Clacton later in January and was “out meeting constituents I bet far more than any MP has done for many, many years in Clacton”.
Adding that he had bought a house in Clacton, he said: “That’s why you can see me out, often on a Saturday morning, out buying the essentials – limes, tonic, all that sort of thing.
“So I’m out meeting lots of constituents on a regular basis and, you know, actually working with community groups, and I’ve made a few donations to some local charities personally, I’m thoroughly enjoying the job.”
Starmer holds first Cabinet meeting of 2025
Sir Keir Starmer is holding his first Cabinet meeting of 2025, after a major speech on Monday in which he announced new NHS reforms and criticised Elon Musk’s “lies and misinformation”.
The meeting also comes after home secretary Yvette Cooper announced that the professionals who work with children will face criminal sanctions if they do not report child sexual abuse – as recommended by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Ms Cooper told MPs on Monday evening that a “significant package of measures” will be announced by the government in the next few weeks aimed at tackling online child sexual exploitation.
Farage says he will not take legal action against Kemi Badenoch
Nigel Farage has said he will not take legal action against Kemi Badenoch over her claim Reform UK had faked its membership numbers.
He told LBC: “I’m not going to sue over it because, as I said, I do believe in free speech. I was offended by it, I asked for an apology and one wasn’t given so I’m going to go to her constituency on the 31st of this month.
“I’m going to hold a big event for all the Reform members living in her constituency, there are 417 of them when I last checked, paid-up members, bet it’s more than she’s got. There’s another 800 supporters living in the constituency.
“And I’m going to do a big joint photo, Kemi, and say ‘these are all our fake members and we are coming for you at the next election’.”
Reform prepared to set up unofficial inquiry into grooming gangs, Farage says
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said that his party would be prepared to set up an unofficial inquiry into grooming gangs if the government did not act within “a few weeks”.
He told LBC radio: “I honestly believe that through the police, through social services, through the last days of the Labour Government, through the entirety of the last Conservative government, there has been a concerted attempt to play this down for fear of what it might do, for fear of being called racist.
“The irony is that the attacks themselves were racist. This was anti-white female racism – of that, I have no doubt.”
Mr Farage said he could raise the money to fund an inquiry, and although it would not have legal powers to compel witnesses to attend, there would be an outcry if anyone did not co-operate.
“I will have no difficulty in raising the money to do this, whatsoever. We’ll appoint independent ex-judges and experts,” he said. “I won’t have the statutory powers but I tell you what, I think this would garner such massive public support that anybody asked to appear that didn’t appear would look terrible.”
More needed to tackle child abuse in Britain, whistleblower says
Child abuse is still happening in Britain and there are a range of issues which are hampering efforts to tackle it, a campaigner has said.
Whistleblower Maggie Oliver, a former detective who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in 2012, told Times Radio: “It’s about a lack of resources, a lack of training, not prioritising these cases, still victim blaming and judging them, a lack of experience in police forces now, but for me, the buck stops at the top. If this is a priority – invest, commit.
“There are many people out there who know exactly what’s needed but it is more than just a criminal justice problem. It is a societal problem that needs multiple strands and different ways of tackling.
“Every victim of child abuse will not get their day in court but every victim needs help and support and compassion and kindness, and that is really the bigger picture.”
Farage: ‘I have no desire to go to war with Elon Musk'
Losing Elon Musk’s support would harm Reform UK but the relationship can be mended, Nigel Farage has said, after the billionaire called him to be replaced as the party’s leader because he “does not have what it takes”.
Speaking during a phone-in on LBC, the Reform leader said he would be in the United States “for a good sort of four or five days” for Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, during which time he would meet billionaire Mr Musk.
Mr Farage said: “I have no desire to go to war with Elon Musk and I’m not going to, and I haven’t done. I’m a huge admirer of him, I think he’s an heroic figure.”
Asked whether losing his support would weaken Reform UK, Mr Farage said: “Not having Elon’s support would damage us with that younger generation because he kind of makes us look cool, so I’m being frank about that and I am confident that whatever has been said, we can mend. I really think we can.”
He added: “It’s not crucial. I mean look, if I was to embrace, as it looks like I was being urged to do, the sort of violent thuggish people like [Tommy] Robinson, that would do our party immense harm, and probably rightly so.
“So the fact that I’ve stood up on a point of principle, even if in the short term its to my detriment, in the long run may even work in our favour. Of course I want his support, of course I will talk to him in America in a few days’ time, of course I want to mend any broken fences that might exist. I’m sure we can do it.”
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