David Lammy Slams Elon Musk Over Grooming Gang Allegations

David Lammy has accused Elon Musk of “selling falsehoods” following his attacks on Labour’s approach to toilet gangs scandal.

The Foreign Secretary urged the world’s richest man to “focus on the facts” when using X, the social media platform he owns, to intervene in the dispute.

Musk accused the safeguard minister Jess Phillips of being a “rape genocide apologist” who should be in jail, and also attacked Keir Starmer background as head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

His outspoken comments propelled the issue onto the political agenda, culminating in Parliamentarians last night rejected a Conservative call for a national inquiry into recruitment gangs targeting vulnerable girls in dozens of towns across England.

The government has said a new inquiry is not necessary as they implement recommendations from Professor Alexis Jay’s inquiry into child sexual abuse, which was reported in 2022.

This morning on BBC Breakfast, Lammy said: “There has been a debate driven by Elon Musk, of course, this week, and I think the Prime Minister was right earlier in the week to remember the facts, the truth and call “ Extract those who are telling lies in this area.”

When asked by host Naga Munchetty what he would say to Musk personally, Lammy said: “I insist that we focus on the truth, we focus on the facts.

“I recognize that there is a heated debate about freedom of expression, and Elon Musk is on one end of that debate. But to have freedom of expression, it must be based on facts and truth.

“And some of what we’ve seen online is selling lies, it’s creating bad faith, it’s very unfair to those victims, and I pray in aid of Alexis Jay’s words in recent days, which focus minds on her recommendations, regarding the victims who are behind this and continue with the implementation of their investigation.”