Elon Musk has dubbed Keir Starmer ‘Keir Starmtrooper’ (Image: Getty)
has given Sir Keir Starmer a new nickname and claimed the Prime Minister is “hiding terrible things”.
The world’s richest man dubbed the PM “Keir Starmtrooper” after Sir Keir warned MPs not to back a Commons push for a new, national investigation into child sexual abuse grooming gangs. It comes after the Prime Minister was on Tuesday (January 7).
Sir Keir had said Conservative Party leader was a “shocking tactic” which prioritised “the desire for retweets over any real interest in the safeguarding of children”.
Mr Musk tweeted in response: “Now why would Keir Starmtrooper order his own party to block such an inquiry? Because he is hiding terrible things. That is why.”
The tech billionaire founder of Tesla did not elaborate on what he was accusing Sir Keir of hiding, but the in recent days after Home Office minister Jess Phillips declined a request for a nationally led inquiry into child sexual abuse Oldham.
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Elon Musk claims Sir Keir Starmer is ‘hiding terrible things’ (Image: Elon Musk/X)
The have joined calls by Mr Musk for a new UK-wide inquiry into child sexual abuse, despite a wide-ranging independent probe having concluded its work in 2022.
Ms Badenoch’s party will bring forward an amendment to the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on Wednesday which is expected to call for ministers to establish a “national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused on grooming gangs”.
The amendment is unlikely to be supported by a majority in the Commons as the Government wants to roll out the recommendations of an investigation led by Professor Alexis Jay rather than open a new inquiry.
The non-binding amendment also calls for the Commons to halt the progress of the Bill, which includes measures aimed at bolstering safeguarding for children.
The Bill includes measures that will see parents no longer have an automatic right to take their children out of school for home education if the young person is subject to a child protection investigation or suspected of being at risk of significant harm.
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Kemi Badenoch wants a new national inquiry (Image: Getty)
Shadow Education Minister, Neil O’Brien, claimed the were giving MPs the “first chance to vote to give victims answers and justice”.
Professor Jay, who led the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has said “the time has passed” for another lengthy examination of grooming gangs.
Meanwhile, Ms Phillips has said Mr Musk “knows absolutely nothing” about grooming gangs and suggested her life had been turned upside down after the X owner used the platform to accuse her of being a “rape genocide apologist”.
Asked if it had turned her world upside down, Ms Phillips replied: “Yeah a little bit, a lot. Well, a lot actually it’s… it’s not great.”
Sir Keir defended his record of prosecuting child grooming gangs on Tuesday and said those “spreading misinformation are not interested in the victims”.
Jess Phillips says her life has been turned upside down (Image: Getty)
Writing for The Sun newspaper, Sir Keir defended his time working as England and Wales’ chief prosecutor between 2008 and 2013, the period when he lead the justice system as it began to prosecute child grooming gangs, and which has been a subject of Mr Musk’s attacks.
He wrote: “My fight to change the way that the prosecution service operated is a matter of public record. Making sure the men responsible for these despicable acts were brought to justice. Put in the dock. Then behind bars.”
The Prime Minister said: “That is why I brought the first prosecution for a grooming gang. Far-right voices have tried to rewrite history.”
He added: “Those spreading lies and misinformation are not interested in the victims. Those cheerleading for Tommy Robinson – a thug who was jailed for almost collapsing a grooming case – are not interested in justice. They are only interested in themselves.”
Sir Keir agreed a national investigation into child grooming gangs was necessary and said “that is why one was held” by Professor Alexis Jay and it was now for the Government to follow up on this.
He also doubled down on earlier criticism of the , writing they were “jumping on that bandwagon” and “putting political posturing before child protection”.
The had accused the Prime Minister of “smearing people who are concerned about rape gangs”, though Sir Keir’s spokesman acknowledged not all those calling for a new inquiry were aligned with the far-right.
In the Commons, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “It is not far-right to stand up for victims of mass rape.”