Sadiq Khan breaks silence as Met Police issues grooming gangs update

Sadiq Khan has broken his silence on London's grooming gang scandal. The Metropolitan Police is reviewing 9,000 cases in a huge grooming gangs probe after the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan previously said there were none. Khan's announcement comes following an Express/MyLondon investigation, which exposed several potential grooming gang cases in London that were overlooked.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: "Any individuals or gangs exploiting children for sex are utterly abhorrent. Sadiq is quite clear that they must face the full force of the law. These children have not only suffered terrible abuse at the hands of the perpetrators but have been woefully let down by the authorities meant to protect them from harm."

Initially, Khan has claimed there were "no reports" or "indications" that London was blighted by the type of abuse that affected towns like Rochdale and Rotherham. But in a stunning release on Friday evening, the Met has now revealed it has 9,000 cases to reassess.

The statement continued: "Sadiq has consistently been clear to the Met that no stone must be left unturned in pursuing justice for the victims of grooming gangs and ensuring the vile perpetrators are brought to justice. Sadiq has led efforts to strengthen the protection of children from exploitation and harm in all its forms in London, including grooming gangs.

"In 2023, the Mayor personally requested that HMICFRS look into child protection at the Met, including the effectiveness of the Met police service response to child sexual exploitation. Action has been taken on all recommendations."

"The Mayor has invested more than £233m to tackle violence against women and girls in all its forms, an unprecedented amount. The Met have also adopted a new 'Child First' approach to safeguarding - including an enhanced approach to dealing with vulnerable missing children - to ensure Child Sexual Exploitation is treated with the seriousness it deserves.

"The Mayor remains vigilant to emerging and changing threats around child exploitation and will continue to support and hold the Met to account to ensure it does everything possible to tackle child sexual exploitation in London."

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson added: "Any sexual offending against children is abhorrent but group-based offending, often characterised as 'grooming gangs', is particularly insidious and devastating in its profound impact on the children affected.

"The Met takes all allegations or concerns about child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation incredibly seriously and always investigates, following the evidence without fear or favour.

"Since 2022, there have been significant improvements to how the Met identifies and investigates group-based offending, including training for 11,000 frontline officers and the expansion of our child exploitation teams. In the last year we have solved three times more cases of child sexual exploitation - representing 134 more suspects charged.

"As part of the national reinvestigation into group-based child sexual exploitation recommended by Baroness Casey, we are currently undertaking a review of approximately 9,000 cases covering a 15-year period. In line with the IICSA definition, these include many cases of such as intra-familial, peer-on-peer and in institutional settings, along with those which do not fit the common understanding of a 'grooming gang'.

"Our commitment to safeguarding all victims of such terrible offences and bringing those responsible to justice is absolute."