UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned "those spreading lies and disinformation" on Monday.
It follows criticisms from US tech billionaire Elon Musk regarding the handling of a case involving the sexual exploitation and rape of minors in England.
"Those who spread lies and disinformation do not care about the victims. They care about themselves," Keir Starmer stated at a press conference, without directly naming Elon Musk.
In a series of posts on X, Elon Musk targeted the Prime Minister, formerly the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England.
Musk criticised the authorities’ handling of a major case involving the sexual exploitation and rape of over 1,500 girls and young women in Northern England, which came to light more than a decade ago.
Most of the perpetrators were men of Pakistani origin, and the authorities were accused of failing to take the case seriously.
"Serious crimes such as rape in the UK require CPS approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was leading the CPS when these gangs of rapists could exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer," Musk wrote on X last Thursday.
Musk also called for new general elections in the UK and demanded the release of far-right convicted criminal Tommy Robinson. Robinson was sentenced to 18 months in prison for violating a court order barring him from pushing defamatory statements about a Syrian refugee. He had served four prison terms between 2005 and 2019.
Responding to these attacks, Keir Starmer defended his record as head of the CPS, claiming to have "reopened cases" and "secured the first charges against an 'Asian grooming network'."
