The liberal media had become so anti-Elon Musk they wanted to dissuade everyone from listening to what he had to say, including his pointing out of the Muslim rape gangs going unprosecuted in the U.K. Near the end of the first hour of Thursday’s edition of The Lead, CNN host Jake Tapper ran a report from CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson decrying Musk for “opening old wounds” despite no justice ever being served in a crime spree that was still ongoing.
“Mr. Musk has been targeting Britain's prime minister, Keir Starmer, over a sex abuse scandal from more than a decade ago, when Starmer was a prosecutor,” Tapper griped as he was leading into the segment. “CNN's Nic Robertson has more for us now on how Musk's actions are opening old wounds in a town in northern England.”
Despite admitting that “gangs of predominantly Pakistani heritage men groomed and gang-raped vulnerable young girls, exploiting them under the noses of authorities,” Robertson ignored that no one had been brought to justice and called it a “painful national scar that Elon Musk has helped reopen using his social media platform X to call for a national inquiry into these awful events more than a decade ago.”
Accusations from “more than a decade ago” never stopped the liberal media from continuously bringing up the sexual misconduct scandals in the Catholic Church, despite people being brought to justice and the reforms made.
Robertson also huffed that it was “winning Musk fans” in the forms of one of the victims. “I honestly can't thank him enough for doing this because we need justice and we can't keep going on year after year, decades on and still getting nowhere,” Samantha Walker-Roberts said. “Everyone's finally listening.”
Not mentioned in the on-air report – only included in the online write up – Robertson noted that Walker-Roberts “believes that children from vulnerable backgrounds are still being groomed.”
While Robertson admitted that “For years, rape was happening in plain sight” and “Institutional failings repeated,” he lamented that Musk was putting a spot light on those in charge, predominately Prime Minister Keir Starmer:
Musk appears to have picked Oldham and the abuse scandal to reignite attacks on UK PM Keir Starmer that began last summer, picking up again early January when Musk began accusing Starmer, who was the chief prosecutor, as the child abuse scandal surfaced, of failing, tweeting: Prison for Starmer; Starmer must go.
Starmer accused Musk of, quote, “lies and disinformation.” The region's former chief prosecutor questions Musk's motivation.
Robertson never explained what "lies and disinformation" Musk was purportedly spreading.
With Starmer’s Labour Party affiliation conspicuously absent from both the on-air report and online article, Robertson bemoaned “Musk's right-wing tweets amplifying posts focusing on crimes committed by, quote, ‘migrants,’ ‘Pakistani Muslim’ and Asian gangs are putting girls at risk.”
“Musk's divisive onslaught has forced Starmer's hand, triggering new legislation and a new but non-statutory inquiry for Oldham,” he decried the “bandwagon” effect Musk had created by putting a spotlight on the U.K. government failure to keep citizens safe and “perhaps figures, might drive Starmer from office.”
While being uninterested in holding the government accountable for failing to protect his fellow Brits, Robertson highlighted the outrage of apparent Pakistani heritage men who were public officials of one of the towns the rapes happened:
NAZIR AFZAL (former chief prosecutor for north-west England): He's just -- just stirring up a racist pot (…) When you just focus on the brown guy, you're telling girls, beware of the brown guy. You're not telling them that they're 40 times more likely in this country to be abused by a British white guy.
(…)
ABDUL WAHID (Oldham councilor): Some of the rhetoric is coming out with is probably not helpful (…) It's unhelpful because everybody starts pitching against each other.
Judging by what was shared in the reports, Robertson didn’t press them on getting justice for the victims and didn’t mention how liberal orthodoxy on cultural issues and fears of being called racist kept other officials from prying.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CNN’s The Lead
February 6, 2025
4:41:34 p.m. EasternJAKE TAPPER: In our law and justice lead, the United States is not the only country in the sights of Elon Musk. Mr. Musk has been targeting Britain's prime minister, Keir Starmer, over a sex abuse scandal from more than a decade ago, when Starmer was a prosecutor.
CNN's Nic Robertson has more for us now on how Musk's actions are opening old wounds in a town in northern England.
[Cuts to video]
CAR RADIO: Good morning. Demands for a national inquiry into grooming gangs. Very close to the center of which is Elon Musk.
NIC ROBERTSON: In these northern English streets, gangs of predominantly Pakistani heritage men groomed and gang-raped vulnerable young girls, exploiting them under the noses of authorities.
It is this painful national scar that Elon Musk has helped reopen using his social media platform X to call for a national inquiry into these awful events more than a decade ago.
His intervention, targeting the UK prime minister, is winning Musk fans.
SAMANTHA WALKER-ROBERTS (victim): I honestly can't thank him enough for doing this because we need justice and we can't keep going on year after year, decades on and still getting nowhere.
ROBERTSON: What's different this time?
WALKER-ROBERTS: Everyone's finally listening.
ROBERTSON: Because of Elon Musk.
WALKER-ROBERTS: Yeah.
ROBERTSON: Sam, who was raped by a South Asian grooming gang, doesn't want to show her face, fearing a backlash.
WALKER-ROBERTS: I went to the police station to report a sexual assault that had just happened. There were two men behind me. They interrupted and said, “we can give you a lift,” which the officer said, “yeah, go with them.”
ROBERTSON: So, the police handed you over to abusers?
WALKER-ROBERTS: Yes.
ROBERTSON: You were how old then?
WALKER-ROBERTS: Twelve. Yeah. As children we’re meant to trust officials. I was hurt from that.
ROBERTSON: Musk appears to have picked Oldham and the abuse scandal to reignite attacks on UK PM Keir Starmer that began last summer, picking up again early January when Musk began accusing Starmer, who was the chief prosecutor, as the child abuse scandal surfaced, of failing, tweeting: Prison for Starmer; Starmer must go.
Starmer accused Musk of, quote, “lies and disinformation.” The region's former chief prosecutor questions Musk's motivation.
NAZIR AFZAL (former chief prosecutor for north-west England): He's just -- just stirring up a racist pot.
ROBERTSON: Worse, he says, Musk's right-wing tweets amplifying posts focusing on crimes committed by, quote, “migrants,” “Pakistani Muslim” and Asian gangs are putting girls at risk.
AFZAL: When you just focus on the brown guy, you're telling girls, beware of the brown guy. You're not telling them that they're 40 times more likely in this country to be abused by a British white guy.
ROBERTSON: For years, rape was happening in plain sight. Institutional failings repeated.
According to an independent national inquiry, the child abuse scandal spanned dozens of British cities, affected thousands of children, threw shame on national institutions, heightened racial tensions. Particularly in cities like Oldham, historically poorer, with higher than national average immigration.
Oldham, a rust belt type of town, is also pushing back against Musk.
ABDUL WAHID (Oldham councilor): Some of the rhetoric is coming out with is probably not helpful.
ROBERTSON: Why is it unhelpful?
WAHID: It's unhelpful because everybody starts pitching against each other.
ROBERTSON: Musk's divisive onslaught has forced Starmer's hand, triggering new legislation and a new but non-statutory inquiry for Oldham.
Sam says it's not enough. What she wants from Musk is to stop enabling the right-wing.
WALKER-ROBERTS: He needs to say that this is about survivors, not about everyone else. And too many people are jumping on this bandwagon.
ROBERTSON: A bandwagon, Musk, perhaps figures, might drive Starmer from office.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Oldham, England.
[Cuts back to live]
TAPPER: And our thanks to Nic Robertson for that report.
CNN has reached out to Musk's team for comment. We have not yet heard back. When we do, we will bring it to you.
