INTERNACIONAL
Elon Musk demands UK act on grooming gang scandal amid growing calls for probe: ‘National inquiry now!’
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is throwing his weight behind growing calls in the United Kingdom for a new investigation into the scandal of child abuse by grooming gangs, going so far as to back calls for King Charles III to intervene.
«National inquiry now!» Musk stated on X on Friday, declaring the scandal «the worst mass crime against the people of Britain ever.»
The U.K. has for years been dealing with the revelation that a number of grooming gangs, often consisting of men of South Asian or British Pakistani heritage, exploited children for decades across the north of England in cities and towns including Rochdale, Telford, Manchester and Rotherham.
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Elon Musk listens as President-elect Donald Trump addresses a House Republicans Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on Nov. 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
A 2014 independent review of grooming in Rotherham found that the majority of perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage and said that it was «hard to describe the appalling nature of the abuse that child victims suffered.»
«They were raped by multiple perpetrators, trafficked to other towns and cities in the north of England, abducted, beaten, and intimidated. There were examples of children who had been doused in petrol and threatened with being set alight, threatened with guns, made to witness brutally violent rapes and threatened they would be next if they told anyone,» the report said. «Girls as young as 11 were raped by large numbers of male perpetrators.»
That report found that around 1,400 children were abused between 1997 and 2013. It also stressed that abuse «is not confined to the past but continues to this day.»
The report found that police gave no priority to the abuse cases and failed to act. It also found that at least one report «was effectively suppressed» and others were ignored by local authorities. It found that while some did not believe the information, others were spooked by political correctness.
«Several staff described their nervousness about identifying the ethnic origins of perpetrators for fear of being thought racist; others remembered clear direction from their managers not to do so,» it said.
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A review in Telford found that a high proportion of the cases involved men described as «Asian» or «Pakistani» and that authorities in Telford were concerned that allegations «had the potential to start a ‘race riot.’» A broader Home Office report in 2020 said that while high-profile cases have «mainly involved men of Pakistani ethnicity,» it also cited research showing that group-based child sex exploitation offenders are most commonly White.
The scandal was seen by many as a prioritizing of multiculturalism and political correctness over the welfare of British children and the prosecution of criminals.
Britains Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses members at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, England, on Tuesday. (AP)
The issue recently reignited when local politicians in the town of Oldham asked the Home Office in July for a government inquiry into child abuse. A 2022 report into Oldham’s actions between 2011 and 2014 found that children were failed by local agencies, but it also found that there was no cover-up despite «legitimate concerns» that the far-right would capitalize on «the high-profile convictions of predominantly Pakistani offenders across the country.»
The Manchester Evening News reported Home Office Minister Jess Phillips responded to the request in October, saying that any such inquiry should be organized locally.
«Survivors sit at the heart of our work to end child sexual exploitation. Whatever happens in terms of future inquiries, we have promised them that their wishes will be paramount, and we will not renege on that pledge,’ a Home Office spokesperson told the outlet.
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«We all recognize that terrible mistakes were made in the past, with children ignored or dismissed,» they said.
That response was slammed by Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch, who called for a full national inquiry into what she called the «rape gangs scandal.»
«The time is long overdue for a full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal,» she said on X. «Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots.»
«2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice,» she said.
King Charles III departs after receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate at The London Clinic on Jan. 29, 2024 in London. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
Musk, who has been tapped by President-elect Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, also backed calls for King Charles III to intervene-noting that current Prime Minister Keir Starmer was head of the Crown Prosecution Service at the time of the scandals, although the scandals generally involved local authorities.
«Yes,» Musk said in response to a post saying the King «must step in.»
He continued, «They oppose an inquiry, because it will show that those in power were complicit in the cover-up,» he said of the government.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting responded to Musk’s comments, telling ITV News that the government takes child abuse «incredibly seriously» and repeating that an inquiry in Oldham should be led locally.
«Some of the criticisms that Elon Musk has made, I think are misjudged and certainly misinformed, but we’re willing to work with Elon Musk, who I think has got a big role to play with his social media platform to help us and other countries to tackle this serious issue,» he said. «So if he wants to work with us and roll his sleeves up, we’d welcome that.»
Fox News Digital reached out to the British government’s Home Office for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Daños
Un soldado ucraniano de la 28ª Brigada Mecanizada Separada se retira tras disparar una granada propulsada por cohete (RPG) contra las fuerzas rusas cerca de Bakhmut el 20 de marzo de 2023. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
Funeral de Yaroslav Yarotskyi, de 25 años, que murió junto a otros ocho soldados ucranianos cuando un dron impactó contra su posición en una trinchera del frente en la región de Luhansk, en noviembre de 2023. (Mauricio Lima para The New York Times)
Soldados de la Legión Internacional utilizan un sistema antidrones para interferir frecuencias cerca de una posición rusa en el bosque de Serebrianka, en el este de Ucrania, el 6 de febrero de 2024. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
Soldados ucranianos instalan su puesto avanzado de drones en las ruinas de una granja cerca de la ciudad de Kreminna, en el este de Ucrania, el 1 de marzo de 2024. (David Guttenfelder/The New York Times)
Una unidad de artillería de la 95ª Brigada de Asalto Aéreo Separada de Ucrania dispara un obús contra las tropas rusas que intentan capturar Toretsk, en la región de Donetsk, en el este de Ucrania, el 13 de julio de 2024. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
El 108º Batallón Separado «Lobos Da Vinci» de Ucrania entrena con drones terrestres no tripulados en la región de Donbás, Ucrania, 21 de febrero de 2025. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
El soldado ucraniano Roman Lozynskyi llora sobre el féretro de su amigo y compañero Dmytro Pashchuck, en Khlivchany, Ucrania, el 15 de marzo de 2023.Batalla naval
Drones marinos en un lugar no revelado de Ucrania el 6 de diciembre de 2023.
Reacción
Respuestas
Pope Francis on Thursday shared his first audio message since being hospitalized nearly three weeks ago for double pneumonia, expressing thanks to his well-wishers around the world.
Francis sent a short, two-line recorded message made at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, which was played Thursday evening at the start of the rosary in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
«I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square,» he said in a message that was translated from Spanish to English. «I accompany you from here. May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you.»
The pope has shared written messages via the Vatican since being admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14, but Thursday was the first time his voice had been heard.
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Francis’ condition remained stable and «guarded» Thursday, a day when the pontiff did not have difficulty breathing and remained fever-free.
The pope had a «good night» and continued physical therapy at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for his third week of treatment for double pneumonia, the Vatican said Thursday.
«Today, the Holy Father dedicated himself to some work activities during the morning and afternoon, alternating rest and prayer,» the Vatican said. «Before lunch, he received the Eucharist.»
The next update on Francis’ condition will come Saturday, the Vatican said, because of his stable condition.
Pope Francis waves from the central loggia of St. Peter’s basilica during the Easter ‘Urbi et Orbi’ message and blessing to the City and the World as part of the Holy Week celebrations, in the Vatican on March 31, 2024. (Tiziana Fabi/Pool/AFP/Getty)
«The night passed quietly; the Pope is still resting,» the Holy See press office said earlier Thursday, adding that the Pope’s «clinical condition has remained stable for the last couple of days, and his doctors say he has not had more episodes of respiratory insufficiency.»
The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been stable for two days after suffering a pair of respiratory crises on Monday. Doctors underlined that his prognosis remained guarded due to the complex picture.
In recent days, he has been sleeping with a non-invasive mechanical mask to guarantee that his lungs expand properly overnight and help his recovery. He has been transitioning to receiving oxygen with a nasal tube during the day.
The pope on Wednesday marked the start of Lent by receiving ashes on his forehead and by calling the parish priest in Gaza, the Vatican said. He also added physical therapy to his hospital routine of respiratory therapy.
The Catholic Church opened the solemn Lenten season without the pope’s participation. A cardinal took his place leading a short penitential procession between two churches on the Aventine Hill and opened an Ash Wednesday sermon prepared for the pontiff with words of solidarity and thanks.
Girls, with ashes on their foreheads, pray during a rosary prayer for Pope Francis’ health in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
On Ash Wednesday, observant Catholics receive a sign of the cross in ashes on their foreheads, a gesture that underscores human mortality. It is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence that signals the start of Christianity’s most penitent season, leading to Easter on April 20.
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The pope was supposed to attend a spiritual retreat this weekend with the rest of the Holy See hierarchy. On Tuesday, the Vatican said the retreat would go ahead without Francis but in «spiritual communion» with him. The theme, selected before Francis got sick, was «Hope in eternal life.»
Mexican painter Roberto Marquez places a painting of Pope Francis he made outside the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome on Ash Wednesday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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