Elon Musk has said Jess Phillips must “absolutely” quit as minister for safeguarding women and children, piling further pressure on as she battles to cling on to her career. The top Home Office minister is under renewed pressure today, as victims of child grooming say they won’t rejoin the government inquiry until Ms Phillips steps down or is sacked.
This week the government was dealt a huge blow as four women victims of grooming quit the inquiry, demanding Ms Phillips resign. The four brave women wrote a bombshell letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood that Ms Phillips had labelled some of their claims “untrue” despite evidence in their favour. One of the four, Ellie-Ann Reynolds, said the final turning point for her was “the push to change the remit, to widen it in ways that downplay the racial and religious motivations behind our abuse”.
Ms Phillips told MPs on Tuesday that “allegations of intentional delay, lack of interest or widening of the inquiry scope and dilution are false”.
However, in their letter to the Home Secretary, the four victims say that “evidence has since proven we were telling the truth”.
Reacting to widespread calls for Ms Phillips to be sacked over the row in order to restore faith in the government inquiry, Elon Musk decreed that the minister must “absolutely” depart.
Taking to his social media platform X, Mr Musk also slammed Ms Phillips’ hypocrisy, who while decrying the child abuse victims who quit the panel as liars previously said people must believe victims of sexual violence.
Responding to this old post by Ms Phillips – shared by grooming gang victim Fiona Goddard – Mr Musk said: “Indeed”.
The US billionaire previously sparked an enormous row when he last went to war with Ms Phillips, after he labelled her a “rape genocide apologist” and called for her to be jailed.
Ms Phillips said the row had “endangered” her and had been forced to increase her own security since Mr Musk’s comments.
She added: “I’m no stranger to people who don’t know what they’re talking about trying to silence women like me.”
This morning No. 10 Downing Street insisted that Ms Phillips enjoys the full confidence of the Prime Minister,
Sir Keir Starmer added: “The safeguarding minister has huge experience in issues relating to violence against women and girls. She’s devoted vast parts of her life and career to that and so I do have confidence in her and Louise Casey in leading this project.
“But it is very important that I say to all survivors that I give my personal assurance that this inquiry will go wherever it needs to go, the scope will not be changed.”
Top Tory James Cleverly said this morning that Ms Phillips should stand down, because “when the victims say that they don’t have confidence in her, we have to listen to them”.