Keir Starmer to hit back and defend his handling of the Rochdale grooming gangs scandal in press conference TODAY – amid mounting pressure for a public inquiry after Elon Musk criticism [Video]

19:48 EST 05 Jan 2025, updated 20:00 EST 05 Jan 2025

Sir Keir Starmer is today expected to defend his handling of the grooming gangs scandal amid mounting pressure for a public inquiry.

Whitehall sources said the PM will use a press conference this morning to justify his actions as director of public prosecutions more than a decade ago, which tech billionaire Elon Musk has claimed makes him ‘complicit’ in allowing the gangs’ activities to continue unchecked.

Sir Keir is expected to repeat comments from 2023 when he stressed he gave the ‘green light’ to the first prosecution of a gang of sexual predators in Rochdale. 

But he has faced questions in recent days over a 2009 decision by the Crown Prosecution Service to drop a major case against an alleged grooming gang in Rochdale.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting yesterday hit back at Mr Musk’s ‘ridiculous’ criticism of the Government’s handling of the scandal.

In a series of media interviews, …