British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday announced a national inquiry into a UK child-sex scandal that attracted the attention of US billionaire Elon Musk.

Starmer had previously resisted calls for an inquiry into the so-called “grooming gangs” in favour of a series of local probes.

But speaking to British reporters travelling with him to Canada, Starmer said his position on the issue had changed and he would accept the recommendation in an independent report into child sexual exploitation.

“I have never said we should not look again at any issue. That’s why I asked Louise Casey, who I hugely respect, to do an audit,” he said referring to a member of the upper house of parliament.

“Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry…. She has looked at the material she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry,” he added.

The scandal was over the exploitation of thousands of girls and young women over several decades in towns across England.

Gangs of men, often from Pakistani backgrounds, targeted mostly white girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, some of whom lived in children’s homes.

The gangs operated in several English towns and cities, notably in Rotherham and Rochdale in the north, but also in Oxford and Bristol, for almost four decades.

The issue of UK grooming gangs was thrust into the international spotlight in January when tech billionaire Elon Musk in January launched incendiary attacks on his X platform against the UK government for resisting the calls for a national inquiry.