Starmer hits back at Musk, criticising those 'spreading lies' over child sex abuse

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has publicly condemned those spreading "lies and disinformation" about child sex abuse rings in the UK, a move that comes in response to a storm stirred up online by Elon Musk. Starmer stated that these individuals are not genuinely concerned about the victims but are instead disseminating false information for their own benefit.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Starmer said, "Those who are spreading lies and disinformation as widely as they possibly can, they have no interest in the victims, they only care about themselves." For several days, Musk, the world's richest man and owner of the X platform, has used his social media platform to revisit child sex abuse scandals that occurred in parts of the UK many years ago.

In one post, Musk called for King Charles III to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections in the UK. In another post, he demanded that Starmer's shadow minister Jess Phillips be imprisoned, calling her "pure evil" and a "wicked creature." On Monday, he also stated that Starmer should be put in jail.

Starmer pointed out, "We've seen this playbook many times, whipping up intimidation and threats of violence, hoping that the media will amplify those comments." He added, "When the poison of the far right leads to serious threats against Jess Phillips and others, in my view, that's crossed a line."

Starmer stated that he enjoys "robust debate in politics" but emphasized that these debates must be "based on facts and truth, not lies." He also criticized Conservative politicians, some of whom held government positions when the sex abuse scandals occurred, for "rushing to join the bandwagon" and "degrading themselves and the country for attention."