"it's a good thing, not a bad thing."
Nigel Farage has defended Elon Musk over his critical grooming gang posts on X.
In several posts, the tech billionaire suggested Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute gangs and said Jess Phillips “deserves to be in prison”.
It came as the Home Office defended its decision to reject a request for it to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. The Conservatives and Reform UK have called for a wider national inquiry.
Speaking about Mr Musk’s comments, Nigel Farage said he had used “very tough terms” but that “free speech was back” on X under his ownership.
Mr Farage was also questioned about his wider relationship with Mr Musk, who is said to be considering donating money to his party.
After calls for an inquiry into historic child sexual abuse in Oldham were rejected, Mr Musk began criticising the UK government.
He indicated Sir Keir had failed to properly prosecute rape gangs while director of public prosecutions (DPP), and has repeatedly shared posts from Reform and Conservative MPs calling for a national inquiry.
Mr Musk called the PM “two-tier Keir” and accused Phillips of being a “rape genocide apologist”.
Mr Farage said “tough things get said… by both sides of the debate”.
He continued: “This man happens to be the richest man in the world, but equally, the fact that he’s bought Twitter now actually gives us a place where we can have a proper open debate about many things.
“We may find it offensive, but it’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”
During an interview, Mr Farage said the public is “absolutely right to be” angry about grooming gangs.
He said: “I just think people ask themselves, what has happened to our country? How could this possibly have happened?
“Why did everybody want to cover it up? Why has there been no full public inquiry?”
Ms Phillips and Yvette Cooper wrote a letter to the Tories explaining why they had asked Oldham Council to set up its own inquiry, rather than grant its request for a government-led one.
The letter pointed out the local authority had already started setting up its own inquiry, and added that victims have said “loud and clear” they want action.
They wrote: “In Oldham the crimes committed by grooming gangs were horrific.
“Young girls were abused in the most cruel and sadistic way. Victims and the community need to know that all steps are taken to deliver justice and protect children properly in the future.”
They said they supported an independent review commissioned by Mayor Andy Burnham, which covered historic abuse in Oldham and led to a new police investigation, as well as other child protection work across Greater Manchester.
It highlighted the work of the Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry, which published its final findings in 2022.
There have been numerous investigations into grooming gangs across England, including in Rotherham, Bristol, Cornwall, and Derbyshire.
In Rotherham, an inquiry revealed that 1,400 children were sexually abused over a 16-year period, primarily by British Pakistani men.
An investigation in Telford uncovered abuse involving up to 1,000 girls over 40 years, with some cases reportedly overlooked due to concerns about race.
Police data from 2023 indicates that group-based child sexual abuse accounted for 3.7% of all reported child sexual offences. The data also shows that 26% of such abuse occurred within families, compared to 17% involving groups such as grooming gangs.
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