Sir Keir Starmer accused billionaire Elon Musk of “spreading lies and misinformation” as he responded to a recent barrage of scathing social media posts made by the Tesla and X owner.
Musk has been wading into British politics in recent weeks, falsely accusing the prime minister of being “complicit in the crimes” of perpetrators of the child grooming scandal during his time as director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.
Taking questions at a press conference on Monday, Starmer defended his record from his time at the Crown Prosecution Service, saying that when he left office “we had the highest number of child sexual abuse cases being prosecuted on record”.
He attacked the “poison of the far-right” and said Musk and others sharing hostile tweets about ministers are “not interested in victims, they are interested in themselves” and accused the Tories of amplifying his views to gain attention.
Elon Musk has been relentlessly posting about the UK’s child grooming scandal in recent weeks. (AP)
Starmer accused them of failing implement recommendations of Professor Alexis Jay’s 2022 report on child sexual abuse, following the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), but the report’s author has called on Labour to do the same in order to address “endemic” abuse in England and Wales.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Act on IICSA campaign group said: “Politicising the issue of sexual violence fails to acknowledge its lifelong impact and hinders the implementation of vital and urgent overhaul to our systems required.”
Prof Jay said: “Our mission is not to call for new inquiries but to advocate for the full implementation of IICSA’s recommendations.”
Here are the key recommendations that Prof Jay established need implementing.
1. Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse
The first key recommendation made in 2022 was the introduction of a statutory requirement of mandatory reporting.
This would require individuals in certain jobs (both paid and voluntary) to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the relevant authorities.
Any people working in regulated activity in relation to children, police officers and anyone working in a position of trust would be designated as “mandated reporters” and would be bound by this new rule.
Failure to follow this, in some circumstances, could lead to the commission of a new criminal offence of failure to report an allegation of child sexual abuse when required to do so.
The government responded to this recommendation by conducting a consultation on the proposal, which closed on 30 November 2023, with the Home Office publishing its proposals for the new duty in May 2024.
Professor Alexis Jay, the author of the 2022 report, called for a full implementation of her recommendations instead of a fresh inquiry. (Alamy)
2. National financial compensation scheme for abuse victims
The Jay report also recommended the establishment of a national redress scheme for England and Wales to financially compensate child sex abuse victims who have been “let down by institutions in the past”.
Professor Jay said this should be a “fixed-term scheme with a straightforward process” to ensure victims and survivors can get the help they need. The government would seek payments from the institutions involved in each case.
Her report says the redress scheme would “not be suitable” for the criminal or civil justice systems and would not replace the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
In May 2023, the previous Conservative government announced its plan to launch a financial redress scheme off the back of Professor Jay’s report, but it is yet to be established so far.
3. Creation of a Child Protection Authority
The third key recommendation is the creation of a dedicated Child Protection Authority (CPA) in England and in Wales.
These CPAs would have the powers to inspect any institution associated with children, and while they wouldn’t replace existing inspectorates, but may require inspection of those bodies to ensure transparency.
Each authority’s purpose would be to improve practice in child protection; provide advice and make recommendations to government on child protection policy and reforms; and inspect institutions where necessary. They would also have the task of monitoring the implementation of the inquiry’s recommendations.
“The CPAs over time will become centres of expertise, and may extend their child protection functions to other forms of harm experienced by children,” the report says.
Responding in May 2023, the previous government said it agrees “with the spirit” with the recommendation but said “many of the functions set out by the inquiry” for CPAs “already exist within current statutory and non-statutory bodies”. It said it would explore a “strengthened role” for the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, and “a more formalised role” with inspectorates.
Other recommendations
Also among the 20 recommendations were the creation of a cabinet-level Minister for Children, which the report said would “provide a sharper focus” on critical issues which affect children.
It called for a single set of core data relating to child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation, as well as extended use of the barred list of people unsuitable for work with children.
The report called for a “more robust” age-verification requirements for the use of online platforms and services, and mandatory online pre-screening by tech platforms for sexual images of children.
On children in care, the report calls for an amendment to the Children Act 1989 to give these children parity of legal protection, and the registration of care staff in residential care, and staff in young offender institutions and secure training centres.
I likewise fought for & gave evidence to IICSA. The problem is not a lack of knowledge (which a new inquiry could address) but a complete lack of political will to tackle CSA & fund action to combat it. As my evidence showed that same problem has existed for decades. https://t.co/l2x3iImeh6
— Tim Tate (@TimTateBooks) January 5, 2025
It recommends a ban on the use of pain compliance techniques, such as headlocks, wrist and arm twists, on children in custodial institutions.
In addition to the national financial redress scheme, the report calls for the removal of the three-year limitation period for personal injury claims brought by victims, and further changes to the existing Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
On the Disclosure and Barring Service, the report calls for improved compliance with statutory duties to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children, and an extension of the service’s regime to those working with children overseas.
The recommendations also include a public awareness campaign on child sexual abuse; a guarantee of specialist therapeutic support for child victims of sexual abuse, and a code of practice for access to records pertaining to child sexual abuse.