New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has hit out at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for linking the notorious grooming gang involved in the rape of hundreds of young girls in his country with ‘Asians’ when only "one rogue nation," Pakistan is responsible for the heinous crimes. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorsed her remark, calling it "true."

Chaturvedi's statement came as the UK's opposition Conservative Party pushed for a new national inquiry into decades-long sexual abuse of predominantly white British girls by men of mostly Pakistani origin in northern England.

The controversy has intensified scrutiny of UK Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who served as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2008 to 2013 during the scandals.

Starmer faced criticism for stating that he led the first prosecution of an "Asian grooming gang" during his tenure, a term Chaturvedi found objectionable.

Elon Musk has also targeted Starmer over the issue in recent weeks.

Starmer, rejecting calls for a fresh inquiry, said efforts should focus on implementing recommendations from a prior seven-year investigation, which provided nearly two dozen proposals for addressing the problem.

Meanwhile, the UK government advanced the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, requiring local authorities to maintain a register of children not enrolled in school.

The bill, part of efforts to safeguard vulnerable children, follows the harrowing case of 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl Sara Sharif, who was found dead in August 2023.

Sara's father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, were convicted of her murder last month and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The bill progressed to the next stage in Parliament without requiring a formal vote.