Jess Phillips has condemned “idiot” councils that believe there is no grooming gangs problem, before asserting that Elon Musk did not influence the decision to hold a national inquiry.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday (6 August), the safeguarding minister said that she ‘doesn’t care” whether local authorities support the inquiry, which was announced in June following a “damning” audit into the scandal from Baroness Casey.
When told by the broadcaster that she’d “surprised” at how many areas believe they have no issue with gangs, she responded: “Well, they [the councils] are idiots if they say that”.
She added: "I don't follow Elon Musk's advice on anything”, after the SpaceX founder called on the UK to host a new public inquiry amid a series of inflammatory posts against Phillips.
“Before anyone even knew Musk's name, I was working with the victims of these crimes.”
