Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips says she faced a “deluge of hate” after tech billionaire Elon Musk used his X social media platform to accuse her of being a “rape genocide apologist”.

Jess Phillips has reportedly had her security bolstered after Elon Musk launched into a furious social media tirade against the home office minister over the government’s decision to reject a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal.

Responding for the first time to the erratic tech billionaire, Ms Phillips said Mr Musk "knows absolutely nothing about the subject he's talking about" and she wouldn't make her decisions based on a "

The Labour safeguarding minister branded Elon Musk's claims about her "ridiculous" and said she will not be silenced.

Jess Phillips has spoken about her fears for her life for the first time since Elon Musk unleashed a torrent of abuse against her over the child grooming scandal. The safeguarding minister found herself at the centre of an international storm when she decided not to agree to a national inquiry into child grooming and rape across towns in the north of England because one had already been conducted.

Jess Phillips has said Elon Musk “knows absolutely nothing” about the grooming gangs after the owner of X attacked her on social media. Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the Home Office minister said her life had been put in danger after Musk branded her a “rape genocide apologist”.