
Tradition Secretary Lisa Nandy has “completely rejected” the thought a brand new collection of grooming gangs inquiries have been arrange due to strain from Elon Musk.
In current weeks, multi-billionaire Musk has repeatedly used his social media platform X to assault the federal government and name for a contemporary nationwide statutory inquiry into baby sexual exploitation.
The federal government resisted the calls, however on Thursday introduced a nationwide evaluation of grooming gang proof and 5 government-backed native inquiries.
Knowledge safety minister Sir Chris Bryant instructed the ORIONEWS it was “actually true” that Musk had sparked extra debate.
However Nandy instructed ORIONEWS Breakfast the federal government had not been pushed into it by social media.
Requested on the ORIONEWS’s Query Time programme whether or not Musk’s interventions had sped up ministers’ response, Bryant mentioned: “Undoubtedly all of this has been expedited due to the controversy that we have had during the last fortnight, I am fairly pleased to say that”.
However Nandy insisted: “We’re not a authorities that governs by social media, we govern for the true world,” she mentioned.
She pointed to measures within the Kids’s Wellbeing and Faculties Invoice as actions the federal government had already dedicated to earlier than this 12 months.
“These measures take time to work up and to implement,” Nandy mentioned.
“They have been issues that we introduced nicely earlier than there was all this noise on social media. There’s far an excessive amount of warmth on social media, not sufficient mild.
“The place the sunshine has been forged in that is by means of these courageous younger girls talking up by means of successive inquiries over many, a few years.”
Later, on ORIONEWS Radio 4’s Immediately programme, Nandy mentioned Labour had “made tackling violence in opposition to girls and ladies a prime precedence for this authorities”.
“We dedicated to that in opposition, it was in our manifesto and the house secretary is making good on that promise.”
House Secretary Yvette Cooper has introduced a brand new £10m fund, cut up into two components, to sort out grooming gangs and baby sexual abuse
First, a “speedy” three-month nationwide audit led by veteran troubleshooter Baroness Louise Casey will look at gang demographics, their victims, and the “cultural drivers” of the crimes.
Secondly, Tom Crowther, identified for main an inquiry into Telford grooming gangs, will assist Oldham and 4 different pilot areas but to be named develop their very own evaluations.
Cooper stopped wanting launching a statutory nationwide inquiry, as known as for by the Conservatives, Reform UK and a few Labour MPs, however the announcement marked a transparent shift within the authorities’s place.
Responding to the announcement, Conservative shadow dwelling secretary Chris Philp mentioned the plan was “wholly insufficient” and repeated his name for a full nationwide inquiry.
He expressed concern that the native inquiries wouldn’t have powers to compel witnesses to attend and provides proof underneath oath.
Musk’s feedback had created a political headache for Labour.
In addition to being one of many richest males on the earth, Musk can be a key adviser for US President-elect Donald Trump.
For weeks, Musk has promoted the campaigns of MPs opposing Labour within the Conservative Occasion and Reform UK.
Musk responded to Cooper’s announcement by saying on his X platform: “I hope it is a correct investigation.”
“It is a step in the precise path, however the outcomes will converse for themselves,” he later added.
Musk has beforehand clashed with the Labour authorities, insulting safeguarding minister Jess Phillips on social media, after she declined a request from Oldham Council for a Whitehall-led inquiry into baby sexual abuse within the city.
He mentioned Phillips “deserves to be in jail” and known as her a “rape genocide apologist”.
Philips instructed the ORIONEWS “disinformation” unfold by Musk was “endangering” her life.
Musk has additionally accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of failing to correctly prosecute “rape gangs” whereas he was director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013, earlier than he entered Parliament.