No 10 has previously said little about inflammatory claims from Elon Musk but issue likely to dominate questions today after major speech on NHS

Good morning. Prime ministers like to focus on what they think is important and there are few issues more important in the UK than the state of the NHS. On his first proper day back at work after the Christmas holidays, Keir Starmer is giving a speech on this, and Andrew Gregory has previewed it here.

I’ll be covering the speech, and reaction to it, in detail as the day goes on.

The prime minister is expected to respond to [Musk’s claim that he was “complict in the rape of Britain”] on Monday as he holds a major press conference about his plans to cut NHS waiting lists. He is expected to say that he gave the “green light” to prosecuting paedophile gangs in Rochdale in 2013 and highlight the fact he introduced reforms to the way the Crown Prosecution Service handles child abuse cases. He also introduced a national network of specialist prosecutors to look into child abuse and sexual exploitation.

The prime minister is also likely to issue a forthright defence of Phillips and the work she has done in tackling violence against women and girls. Both Labour and the Tories have said that Musk’s comments about Phillips are inaccurate.