1 day ago
5
BBC
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has told BBC's Newsnight that "disinformation" spread by Elon Musk was "endangering" her but that it was "nothing" compared to the experiences of victims of abuse.
The tech billionaire and adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump labelled Phillips a "rape genocide apologist" and said she should be jailed.
Asked if the threat to her own safety had gone up since his social media posts and whether protections were in place for her safety, Phillips replied "yes".
She said the experience had been "very, very, very tiring" but that she was "resigned to the lot in life that you get as a woman who fights violence against women and girls".
She added: "I'm no stranger to people who don't know what they're talking about trying to silence women like me."
Musk's intervention came in response to Phillips rejecting a request for the government to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham - which sparked calls from the Conservatives and Reform UK for a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
Her decision was taken in October but first reported by GB News at the start of the year and then picked up by Musk on his social media platform X.
Phillips defended the government's decision not to hold a national inquiry, arguing that local inquiries, such as one held in Telford, were more effective at leading to change.
