America turns on Starmer: PM attacked by Trump and Musk over net zero and grooming gangs
4 January 2025, 02:09 | Updated: 4 January 2025, 02:26
Sir Keir Starmer has been blasted by Donald Trump and Elon Musk over his energy strategy and his handling of grooming gangs, as the incoming US administration clashes with the British government.
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The US president-elect has called on the prime minister to “open up” the North Sea for fossil fuel extraction and told him to “get rid of windmills” used to generate clean energy.
It comes as tech billionaire Elon Musk stepped up his criticisms of Starmer, calling on a new general election and claiming the Prime Minister is 'complicit in the rape of Britain'.
On Thursday, Mr Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform: “The U.K. is making a very big mistake. Open up the North Sea. Get rid of Windmills!”
Labour is scrambling to hit its net zero target of generating 100% of the UK’s electricity from clean power sources by 2030.
The prime minister and his energy secretary Ed Miliband have said they would not issue any new licenses for oil and gas firms to drill in the North Sea to help meet this goals.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has also announced that the government is raise taxes for oil and gas producers, while providing subsidies for new wind and solar power projects.
The government has admitted that it cannot immediately slam the brakes on oil and gas production, including from the North Sea, with Mr Milliband saying Britain will continue to need gas and oil for decades to come.
But Labour’s energy policies appear to stand in stark contrast to the incoming American president’s.
During his campaign for the White House, Mr Trump pledged to “drill, baby, drill” and bolster the US’ oil and gas production once he returns to power later in January.
The Republican has said he wants to see “American energy dominance” in fossil fuels, with wind projects scrapped and major climate policies passed during Joe Biden’s presidency repealed.
That includes Inflation Reduction Act, a partisan bill which put $369 billion (£296,000) towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr Trump has also taken aim at the “lunacy” of electric cars subsidies, a move that could potentially put him at odds with his most powerful supporter, Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of EV company Tesla.
Mr Musk, who will lead Mr Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, has been embroiling himself deeply within British politics, amid rumours he will give Nigel Farage’s Reform UK a $100million cash boost.
Read more: 'We need a British Elon Musk': Jeremy Hunt backs US-style 'efficiency tsar' to boost UK economy
Read more: Trump’s ‘unpredictability’ could help end Ukraine war with Russia, says Zelensky
The tech billionaire has now also hit out at Starmer on social media as the incoming US administration ramps up its attacks on the government.
In an incendiary series of tweets on Thursday, Mr Musk claimed the Prime Minister failed to bring "rape gangs" to justice when he was director of public prosecutions (DPP) between 2008 and 2013.
In his latest attack on the Prime Minister, Mr Musk shared a post on X which asked if King Charles “should dissolve parliament and order a general election… for the sake and security” of the UK.
He then retweeted the thread on his social media platform, simply saying: “Yes.”
Mr Musk then reposted a photo of Sir Keir, which had the overlaid text "I facilitate child rape" to his 210 million followers.
The Tesla owner said on Wednesday that Labour MP Jess Phillips "deserves to be in prison" over her failure to launch an inquiry, with the US tycoon laying blame at the Prime Minister's door.
Prior to this, Mr Musk had written on X: "In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service's approval for the police to charge suspects.
"Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013."
Starmer was complicit in the RAPE OF BRITAIN when he was head of Crown Prosecution for 6 years.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2025
Starmer must go and he must face charges for his complicity in the worst mass crime in the history of Britain.
Speaking with LBC on Friday, Andrew Gwynne, the Public Health minister, told Matthew Wright that "Elon Musk, as a US citizen, perhaps ought to focus on issues on the other side of the Atlantic..."
Musk had argued that "rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice" during Sir Keir's time as director of public prosecutions.
It comes after Phillips said she recognised the "strength of feeling" for a Home Office-led inquiry, but the Government will not "intervene", in a letter to Oldham Council.
"We've already had inquiries into Telford, into Rotherham... and the government is seriously considering the recommendations," Andrew Gwynne told LBC.
Labelling grooming gangs a "very serious issue", he suggested Musk ought to stay out of UK politics, adding: "There comes a point [where] we don’t need more inquiries."
"Had Elon Musk really paid attention to what’s been going on in this country, he might recognise that there have already been inquiries.
Andrew Gwynne on Elon Musk's comments about Labour and grooming gangs
"What we need is justice for the victims. And we need to make sure the criminal justice system follows up and makes sure that these atrocious things are never able to happen again."
Leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, appeared to back Musk by calling for a national inquiry into the UK's "rape gangs scandal".
Badenoch, writing on X, argued that a public inquiry into organised grooming gangs is "long overdue".
In her post, Mrs Badenoch wrote: "The time is long overdue for a full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal.
"Trials have taken place all over the country in recent years but no one in authority has joined the dots. 2025 must be the year that the victims start to get justice."
