The Prime Minister has attacked politicians and activists who “spread lies and misinformation” to promote gangs.

This comes after multi-billionaire Elon Musk accused Sir Keir Starmer of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” during his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) between 2008 and 2013 by failing to take action against groomer gangs.

In addition to Musk’s comments, senior Conservative and Reform MPs this week also called for a nationwide investigation into child sexual exploitation.

But Sir Keir accused opposition MPs of “jumping on a bandwagon” and “amplifying what the far right are saying” to attract attention.

Sir Keir said Labor was addressing child sexual abuse after the Conservatives’ inaction for “14 long years”.

The online debate about gang manipulation had now “crossed the line” and led to threats against MPs, including security minister Jess Phillips, he said.

“We have seen this plan many times before – intimidation and threats of violence in the hope that the media will amplify it,” Sir Keir said.

“Those who spread lies and misinformation as far and wide as possible don’t care about the victims, they care about themselves,” he added.

The debate over grooming gangs was reignited this week after news broke Phillips rejected Oldham Council’s request for a government-led inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation in the city, in aid of a locally led investigation.

The decision was made in October, but GB News first reported it on January 1.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of using “smear tactics from 20 years ago” against those calling for a national inquiry.

“The fact that such a major scandal could occur should be thought-provoking, not a rant that those of us who care about it are ‘the far right,'” Badenoch said.

Reporters were informed that Sir Keir was planning a courageous defense of his record and his government – and his comments were the most impassioned he has ever made in his time as prime minister.

Sir Keir described child sexual exploitation as “completely disgusting” and defended his tenure as DPP, saying he had tackled the problem “head-on”.

“I changed the system because I could see some things that were going wrong,” he told reporters.

As DPP, Sir Keir introduced a special child abuse and sexual exploitation prosecutor to oversee convictions. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidelines have been changed to encourage police to investigate suspects in complex sexual abuse cases, and court reforms have been introduced to make the process less traumatic for victims.

Sir Keir said he had also reopened cases, bringing the first prosecution against an “Asian grooming gang” in Rochdale and calling for compulsory reporting of child sexual abuse.

“When I left office we had the highest number of child sexual abuse cases ever prosecuted,” Sir Keir said.

“The victims here suffered terrible abuse,” he said, “and then they weren’t listened to.”

Phillips has also done “a thousand times more” to protect victims of child sexual abuse than the attackers could “even dream of,” he said.

Sir Keir did not name anyone who he believed was spreading lies in the debate, but his comments followed a series of questions about Musk’s interventions.

Last week the tech entrepreneur attacked the Labor government for inciting gangs. He used his platform on his social media page

Musk’s move to oust the prime minister could trigger diplomatic difficulties for Labor.

Musk is not only one of the richest men in the world, but also an important advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump.

Musk responded to Sir Keir’s comments, calling him “completely despicable”.

In a series of social media posts, Musk continued to attack Labor figures and the Prime Minister by name.

He also condemned what he saw as Sir Keir’s description of calls for a national inquiry into gang management as far-right activism – calling it “a crazy statement”.

After supporting Trump’s successful campaign in the US, Musk recently turned his attention to British and European politics, particularly supporting insurgent right-wing movements.

However, in the United Kingdom he supported Reform UK recently fell out with their leader Nigel Farageand has come out in support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the country’s early parliamentary elections next month.

Musk also called for the release of right-wing extremist activist Tommy Robinson from prison.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court admitted violating a restraining order against repeated claims about a Syrian refugee student.

Sir Keir accused the “cheerleaders” Robinson of having no interest in justice and said he would not tolerate discussion and debate about lies.

“Once we lose the anchor that the truth matters in the serious debate we need to have, then we are on a very slippery slope,” he said.

The Liberal Democrats called on the government to “convene the US ambassador” to address Musk’s comments, given his role in the next White House administration.

Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “People are fed up with Elon Musk interfering in our country’s democracy despite clearly knowing nothing about Britain.”

There have been numerous investigations into the systematic rape of young women by organized gangs, including in Rotherham, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Rochdale and Bristol.

Sir Keir admitted that many of the victims were “disillusioned and not listened to and listened to by perverse ideas about community relations or by the idea that institutions must be protected above all else”.

A Rotherham Inquiry exposed the sexual abuse of 1,400 children over the age of 16, mostly by British Pakistani men.

In Telford, up to 1,000 girls were abused over 40 years Some cases were missed due to “nervousness about race.” as most of the suspects were men of South Asian descent.

The Conservatives and Reform UK are calling for a statutory inquiry into gang manipulation.

Last week Badenoch said: “In recent years, trials have been taking place across the country, but no one in authority has joined. 2025 must be the year that justice is served for the victims.”

But Sir Keir dismissed the calls, claiming Professor Alexis Jay’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was “comprehensive”.

While he agreed that “no stone should be left unturned” to end child sexual abuse, Sir Keir insisted “action” and not further review was needed now.