Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi stated that responsibility for grooming gangs in the UK should not be attributed to all of Asia, but rather to “one rogue nation” — Pakistan. Her comment received affirmation from SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who called it “true.”
Chaturvedi’s remarks came as the UK’s opposition Conservative Party pushed for a new national inquiry into decades of sexual abuse targeting primarily white British girls by men of predominantly Pakistani descent in various northern English towns. The controversy has intensified pressure on Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who served as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2008 to 2013 during the height of the grooming gang scandals. Starmer emphasized that he led the first prosecution of an “Asian grooming gang” but criticized what he described as “lies and misinformation” surrounding the issue.
Elon Musk has repeatedly criticized Starmer over the past week. Starmer, however, dismissed calls for a fresh inquiry, arguing that efforts should focus on implementing nearly two dozen recommendations from an extensive seven-year investigation into the matter rather than reopening the case.
Simultaneously, attention in the UK centered on the Children’s Bill, designed to establish a register of children not attending school. This measure is part of broader initiatives to protect vulnerable children. The bill gained traction following the tragic case of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl found dead in her home near London in August 2023. Sara had suffered extensive injuries, including broken bones, burns, and bite marks, after enduring prolonged abuse. Her father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, were convicted of her murder last month and sentenced to life in prison.
UK lawmakers advanced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to the next parliamentary stage without requiring a formal vote.
