Jess Phillips hits back at Elon Musk and says he should ‘crack on with getting to Mars’

Jess Phillips has said she has “more important things to be thinking about” than Elon Musk after he accused her of being a “rape genocide apologist”.

The safeguarding minister has hit back at the billionaire’s criticism of her for the first time, telling Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast that his claims are “ridiculous” and she will be led by what victims have to say, not him.

Mr Musk made the comments after Ms Phillips denied a request for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham, saying it should be done at a local level.

The town in Greater Manchester was one of a number of areas where girls as young as 11 were groomed and raped over a decade ago in a national scandal that was exposed in 2013.

Mr Musk’s comments have sparked a political row over the issue – with the Tories and Reform UK now calling for a new public inquiry into grooming gangs.

Ms Phillips told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby that the world’s richest man, who owns SpaceX and is the CEO of Tesla, should “crack on with this ‘getting to Mars'” instead of wading into UK politics.

“You know, Elon Musk is going to [do] Elon Musk. I’ve got bigger and more important things to be thinking about.”

She said she has dedicated her working life to child exploitation and it was “painful” to watch it become “political football”.

There has already been a seven-year national inquiry into child abuse in England and Wales, which the Conservatives commissioned in 2015 and which looked at grooming gangs.

The investigation, chaired by Prof Alexis Jay, concluded in 2022 but none of its recommendations have been implemented.

Ms Phillips, who has sat in court with grooming victims, said: “These sudden demands by the Tories, ridiculous statements made about me and my government by a man thousands of miles away, it’s really painful when you know what I know.

“It’s painful to watch it become a political football rather than an actual attempt to really do something.”

She added that it was “amazing” for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to have declared 2025 as the year victims should get justice, given the party spent the past 14 years in government.

“Funnily enough, this all started about an Oldham inquiry, which a government she was part of also said should be done locally. And the fact that Kemi Badenoch is reacting to something that Elon Musk has said, I am reacting to things that victims say to me.”

Taking aim at other senior Tories pushing for a national inquiry she said: “I’ve never seen Kemi Badenoch, Chris Philp, Robert Jenrick in any of the meetings that I’ve been in over the years trying to advance policy on this.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.