The British government says it will support a series of local inquiries into organized child sexual abuse in the wake of a furor largely stoked by the world’s richest man Elon Musk

Britain will back new local inquiries into child sexual abuse across the country, the government said on Thursday, after weeks of criticism by U.S. billionaire Elon Musk stirred renewed concern about a decades-old scandal over grooming gangs.

Britain’s Labour government came under pressure to act after Elon Musk reignited a decade-old scandal involving child sexual abuse mainly by men of Pakistani heritage.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has criticized those “spreading lies and misinformation” about child sex grooming gangs in the United Kingdom, responding to an online storm whipped up by Elon Musk.

The UK government backs local inquiries into organised child sexual abuse gangs, following controversy sparked by Elon Musk's comments.

The UK government on Thursday announced a "rapid" national review of the extent of sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs and several new local inquiries into cases of abuse.The issue was at the centre of a political firestorm earlier this month when a war of words broke out between US tech billionaire Elon Musk and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.