Elon Musk compelled the government to launch new investigations into grooming gangs, a minister acknowledged. It is "certainly true," according to junior culture minister Chris Bryant, that the billionaire owner of X has "accelerated" further inquiries into the incident.Gangs of mostly Pakistani males raped thousands of vulnerable girls in at least 50 British towns and cities over a number of decades. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, declared Thursday that the Government will provide £5 million to fund five preliminary local investigations into gang involvement.Asked if Mr Musk’s campaigning on the issue had forced the Government into the announcement, Mr Bryant told BBC Question Time: “I think we’ve had more of a debate because of what he’s been engaged in, yeah, because of what he said, that is certainly true.“And I welcome the fact that we’re having a debate about it because this is one of the most despicable things that has happened in British society.”
He added: “Undoubtedly all of this has been expedited because of the debate that we’ve had over the last fortnight. Undoubtedly.“But look, I think it’s good that we’re having that debate because, as I say, this is one of the most despicable things that we’ve seen in British society for years.”
The Government had previously argued that it should focus on implementing the recommendations of the previous Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) rather than launch further inquiries.Mr Musk, the owner of X, has been using the platform to launch a barrage of attacks on the Government and politicians over the grooming gangs scandal.
They have included Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister**,** who earlier this week said she felt Mr Musk was “endangering her” after labelling her a “rape genocide apologist” and calling for her to be jailed.
In a Commons statement on Thursday afternoon, Ms Cooper also announced a rapid three-month national audit, led by Baroness Louise Casey, to establish the current scale of grooming.
It will focus on the “societal and cultural drivers” and ethnicity of the gangs. Baroness Casey will conduct it before taking up her post solving the social care crisis.
The moves were designed to counter calls for a national inquiry from the Conservatives, Reform UK and some Labour MPs.
Sir Keir Starmer has previously said that victims wanted “action now, not the delay of a further inquiry”.
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