Humza Yousaf has hit out at Elon Musk and Nigel Farage over their "silence" after an all-white child grooming gang was sentenced on Monday.
Two women and five men will all be monitored for life after being convicted of gang raping a child and abusing other children in a drugs den in Glasgow where heroin and crack cocaine were used.
Iain Owens, 46; Elaine Lannery, 40; Lesley Williams, 43; Paul Brannan, 42; Scott Forbes, 51; Barry Watson, 48; and John Clark, 48, were convicted in November 2023 following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Four of the group: Owens, Lannery, Brannan and Williams, were found guilty of attempting to murder a child by pushing her into a microwave and trapping her in other places.
No messages of anger or disgust from Farage, Reform or Musk about one of the biggest child grooming gangs in UK who were sentenced yesterday. It's almost like they don't actually care about keeping children safe but have an ulterior motive? Hope those sentenced rot in prison. pic.twitter.com/Rl2NVigx1c
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) January 28, 2025
Now, Yousaf has hit out (above) at the lack of response to the sentencing from the Reform UK leader and the world’s richest man – who have both piled pressure on the Prime Minister Keir Starmer to order an inquiry into grooming gangs and highlighting the involvement of British Pakistani men.
“No messages of anger or disgust from Farage, Reform or Musk about one of the biggest child grooming gangs in UK who were sentenced yesterday,” the former first minister said.
“It's almost like they don't actually care about keeping children safe but have an ulterior motive?
“Hope those sentenced rot in prison.”
In a separate Instagram post, Yousaf added: “I wonder why?”
There have been several investigations into grooming gangs in various parts of England, including Rotherham, Bristol, Cornwall, and Derbyshire.
An inquiry into abuse in Rotherham found 1400 children had been sexually abused over a 16-year period, predominantly by British Pakistani men.
But studies have shown no link overall, with a Home Office study in 2020 finding that, if anything, group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are “most commonly white”.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has also said that the vast majority of grooming gang offences are carried out by white men.
