Why is the UK's decade-old 'grooming gangs' scandal back in the news?

If one has to scroll through the billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk's feed on X right now, it appears more like a rallying cry to save the 'white' civilisation from immigrants, who are enjoying a free rein to rape, murder or indulge in child sexual abuse as they please.

Cherry-picking a decade-old case in Britain, that came to be known as the 'grooming gangs' scandal, Musk has been on a spree of vitriolic posts for about a week, amplifying them to his over 211 million followers.

The target of Musk's posts is one particular ethnic group, the Pakistanis, and the Labour-led British government, whom he accuses of enabling child sexual abuse.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Musk's erratic attacks on the government, suggesting his "lies and misinformation" on grooming gangs were amplifying the "poison" of the far right.

But how much of Musk's take is true or based on facts?

In November, the Labour government published groundbreaking data on the ethnicity of child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators—the first such report released by a British administration.

The findings revealed that 83 percent of those convicted in 2023 were white, while 7 percent were classified as Asian, aligning closely with the ethnic composition of the UK population.

It is worth mentioning that according to official UK statistics, 'Asian' is a broad category encompassing individuals of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese or other South Asian origins.

The 'grooming gangs' scandal refers to a series of criminal cases in England where organised groups sexually exploited young girls, primarily in the north and Midlands, between 1997 and 2013.

The issue gained national attention in 2011 after The Times of London published investigative reports highlighting how ethnicity played a role in authorities' reluctance to address the problem.

A watershed moment came in 2014, with a damning investigation into the town of Rotherham revealing that at least 1,400 children, some as young as 11, had been systematically groomed and abused over a 16-year period.

The cases became highly contentious due to the racial dynamics—most victims were white, while the perpetrators in high-profile cases were men of Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Afghan heritage.

Nazir Afzal, a former chief prosecutor for North West England between 2011 and 2015, and of Pakistani heritage, had noted that South Asians were overrepresented in specific forms of street grooming highlighted in high-profile cases such as Rotherham and Rochdale.

However, he emphasised that other, more prevalent forms of child sexual abuse across the country were predominantly committed by white British men.

"I learnt of grooming gangs from @thetimes in Jan 2011. I became chief prosecutor (in) May 2011. I authorised charging Rochdale gang (in) June 2011. After convictions (May 2012), Keir put me in charge of national response. Far Right thugs attacked my home. 1000s of rapists were brought to justice," Afzal said on Tuesday.

Musk's posts reflect a troubling pattern among far-right figures: ignoring data, cherry-picking incidents and amplifying fear to create a scapegoat.

Dr. Omar Suleiman, a prominent Islamic preacher in the US, directly addressed Musk on X, pointing out the billionaire’s selective outrage.

Suleiman highlighted how Musk had previously dismissed criticism of Tesla by accusing detractors of "sampling bias" or "deliberate misrepresentation", yet he now ignores official UK data that contradicts his narrative.

"You have blown every conceivable dog whistle of Islamophobia by highlighting a select group of (horrifying) incidents supposedly in the name of Islam," Suleiman said. "If this is a deliberate smear campaign, then you are indeed every bit the hypocrite you once condemned."