Since his meeting with Farage, Musk has increasingly taken an interest in UK politics – focusing on criticism of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Musk has spent the week amplifying calls by Reform UK and the Conservative Party for a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
The calls came after the government turned down a request to conduct an inquiry into historical cases of sexual abuse in Oldham, saying the council should lead it instead.
This prompted Musk to accuse Sir Keir of failing to properly prosecute “rape gangs” while he was director of public prosecutions.
Musk also said Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips “deserves to be in prison” and called her a “rape genocide apologist”.
Asked about Musk’s comments on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Farage said the CEO had used “very tough terms, but that “free speech was back” on X under his ownership.
In 2022, an independent inquiry by Greater Manchester Combined Authority found that vulnerable children were left exposed to sexual exploitation in Oldham because of “serious failings” by the police and council.
The government has rejected the calls for a national inquiry, instead asking Oldham Council to set up its own. The previous Conservative government turned down a similar request in 2022.
Phillips and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a letter to the Conservatives that the local authority had already started setting up an inquiry.
The letter also pointed to the 2022 Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry, which investigated abuse in care homes, churches, homes or by grooming gangs.
The report knitted several previous inquiries into grooming gangs together, including in Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford, alongside its own investigations.
Speaking on Sunday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the government was prioritising “getting on with” implementing the report’s 20 recommendations to combat child sexual abuse.
