Nigel Farage has come to the defense of Elon Musk after the billionaire criticized the UK government’s handling of grooming gangs on X, the social media platform he owns.
Over several days, Musk posted a series of comments suggesting that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute grooming gangs and claimed that Home Office minister Jess Phillips “deserves to be in prison.”
This controversy arose as the Home Office defended its decision to reject a request to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. Both the Conservatives and Reform UK have called for a broader national inquiry.
When asked about Musk’s comments on “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg,” Farage acknowledged that Musk had used “very tough terms” but praised the return of “free speech” on X under Musk’s ownership.
Farage, the leader of Reform UK, was also questioned about his relationship with Musk, who is reportedly considering donating money to his party.
Musk’s latest involvement in UK politics followed Phillips’ directive for Oldham Council to launch its own local inquiry into historic child sexual abuse, similar to inquiries in Rochdale and Telford. The local authority had requested a government-led inquiry.
The tech mogul seized on the decision, made in October, and began heavily criticizing the British government online.
Musk suggested that Sir Keir had failed to properly prosecute rape gangs during his tenure as director of public prosecutions (DPP) and repeatedly shared posts from Reform and Conservative MPs calling for a national inquiry.
Musk, who is a key advisor to incoming US President Donald Trump, labeled the prime minister “two-tier Keir” and accused Phillips of being a “rape genocide apologist.”
