Elon Musk's witch hunt against Jess Phillips puts her at risk - that's not what free speech is for

Jess Phillips is used to being on the receiving end of abusive messages, usually from loners typing bitter notes from their bedrooms. She's faced years of cat calls and blatant misogyny, vile slurs and cowardly threats for being a self-proclaimed 'gobby Brummie' with a high political profile. One night, she received more than 600 rape threats in a matter of hours.

One man is currently serving a jail term for the vile threats he made against her; other police investigations have been carried out. Threats of aggression are so frighteningly commonplace that she long ago had to abandon her 'open door' policy to constituents eager to see her. Her teenage sons worry; they knew murdered MP Jo Cox as one of their mum's political mates and dread weeks like this. For her husband Tom, aware of the full extent of the abuse she gets, the concern is magnified many times over.

This week her name has been sullied by one of the most powerful influencers on the planet, who has made a series of comments insinuating she is on the side of child rapists, not victims. Whatever Elon Musk's intention when he called her a 'wicked witch' and a 'rape genocide apologist' this week to his 211 million Twitter followers, the outcome is that her family and loved ones have a new reason to fret. He has given succour to those crazies who believe action needs to follow words.

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No matter where you stand politically, nor how concerned you are about child exploitation and abuse, it's not merely a worrying use of social media; it's abhorrent.

In more than 40 separate posts this week Musk has either posted or reposted on his X platform ranting commentary including a video by far right activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, about the authorities’ response to the grooming gangs that targeted and raped vulnerable girls. His most critical comments were reserved for Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, and Phillips, the safeguarding minister, saying they were “complicit” in “genocidal mass rape”.

On the facts alone, Musk is wrong about Phillips. Victims of the Telford sexual abuse scandal, including three young victims of a grooming gang, have been among the many to leap to her defence. She has "done more than anyone in public life to support victims and survivors and to advocate for their interests," they said earlier today.

But Musk, tweeting from his multi billionaire's condo over in the States, is unlikely to care a jot about the fallout from his tweets. Nor is he ever likely to face any consequences, even if his commentary could be proved to cross the threshold for prosecution as hate speech. He is the billionaire Tesla boss and X owner in line for a senior role in Donald Trump's administration - the fate of a woman in Birmingham who he says should be 'jailed' won't concern him.

Jess herself is typically stoic. In interviews earlier today, she described the statements made by Musk as 'ridiculous' and 'absolutely untrue'. Talking to Sky's Beth Rigby she said: "I've had men say worst things about me over the years...you cannot be silenced by these people because you have a job to do, you have a once in a lifetime opportunity in government to actually change things for the better for child abuse victims. I need to stop worrying about what I feel about it...and crack on with the job. There was always the plan that we would have a group of victims that would sit in the Home Office as decision-makers on the (Jay) child sex abuse inquiry and how to make (the recommendations) happen so I will listen to victims, not a man spreading misinformation."

Musk's comments however echo the attacks endured by Nazir Afzal over a decade ago. He was the Brummie lawyer, at the time the chief prosecutor for the north west, who prosecuted the Rochdale grooming gang in 2012. Like Phillips, Afzal had built a career out of standing up for the abused and advocating for victims.

But even after bringing those vile paedophiles to justice in Rochdale, he was accused of being an 'apologist for rape gangs' elsewhere. It was a move that ended with extremists gathered in the cul-de-sac where he lived with his young family, threatening to 'get him'.

For weeks afterwards his kids had to be driven to school for their own protection, he had a panic alarm fitted, and police guarded his home. For the record, it was Afzal who then helped the CPS establish the Child Sexual Abuse Review Panel, to re-examine dismissed cases of sex abuse. It was a move that opened the floodgates to more grooming cases and later led to Operation Yewtree.

Given the level of concern voiced by her boss Starmer during a passionate press conference yesterday, Jess has likely spent some time discussing security issues resulting from the Musk narrative.

Every year in Parliament, she reads out a list bearing the names of every woman killed by a man that year. Most years she will receive messages from twisted individuals who wish her to be on it next time. What a terrible, vile indictment of a right to 'free speech' that is, and it's unacceptable that Musk has, unwittingly or otherwise, potentially fuelled those who think just like them.