Elon Musk “knows absolutely nothing” about the subject of grooming gangs, Jess Phillips has said, after the billionaire attacked her on social media.

The Home Office minister suggested her life had been turned upside down and the risk to her safety had risen after Mr Musk used his X social media platform to accuse her of being a “rape genocide apologist”.

This followed her decision to decline a Whitehall-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in Oldham.

She branded Mr Musk’s comments “ridiculous” adding: “My immediate thought was like just, it’s sort of like, what a joke. And then the realisation of what this is probably going to mean for you.”

The thing that annoys me the most about it is it takes up so much bandwidth of my time from a man who knows absolutely nothing about the subject he’s talking about

Asked if it had turned her world upside down, Ms Phillips replied: “Yeah a little bit, a lot. Well, a lot actually it’s… it’s not great.”

She added: “The thing that annoys me the most about it is it takes up so much bandwidth of my time from a man who knows absolutely nothing about the subject he’s talking about, when the only thing I ever want to be doing is being able to use all of my brain power to focus on the hundreds of girls I have supported over the years who have been victims of grooming gangs and what needs to happen to make their lives better and to stop what is still happening today.”

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the minister acknowledged there were now protections in place for her safety since the Tesla owner began posting on social media about her.

Ms Phillips told Sky News that Mr Musk – who also owns SpaceX – should “crack on with getting to Mars”, and added she was “really angry” at her political opponents, such as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who had pushed for a national inquiry after the tech billionaire’s attacks on the Government over the issue.

She added: “I am really, really angry because some of the people who are now claiming to be the virtuous, flag bearers of these victims, well, I’m going to listen to the victims, and I won’t rule out anything.”

Ms Phillips continued: “And so I will listen to them, not to a man who spreads misinformation.”

Professor Alexis Jay, who led the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has said “the time has passed” for another lengthy examination of grooming gangs and claimed the row between ministers and Mr Musk is “distracting from the issues”.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think that the time has passed for more inquiries. We’ve had enough of inquiries, consultations and discussions, and especially for those victims and survivors who’ve had the courage to come forward, and they clearly want action.

“We have set out what action is required and people should just get on with it. Locally and nationally.”

Prof Jay declined to answer when asked whether she felt Mr Musk knew what was going on in Oldham, but added: “I have heard very little in the last few days about the appalling and lifelong effects that child sexual abuse can have on people.”

She acknowledged that plans for new legislation announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Monday had happened quicker than they might otherwise have done.

Prof Jay’s inquiry noted that “many of the high-profile child sexual exploitation prosecutions have involved groups of men from minority ethnic communities” but a lack of data means it is “impossible to know whether any particular ethnic group is over-represented as perpetrators of child sexual exploitation by networks”.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick claimed Pakistani men are “over-represented in those who are involved in the grooming gangs” and said he will not “tiptoe” around the issue.

He told Times Radio: “What I have said is that millions of people have come into our country in recent times, but some of them are coming from countries and cultures that have backwards attitudes to women.

“And that’s backed up by the evidence that we have seen from the Jay Report and the testimonies of the victims.”

On Monday, Ms Cooper announced that ministers would begin implementing Prof Jay’s call for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse.

Downing Street said the duty to report child sexual abuse should apply to people engaged in regulated activities with children, including teachers, healthcare professionals, sports coaches and faith instructors.

More details are expected to be set out in the coming weeks.