For years, London’s political class claimed the capital was immune to the grooming gang scandals that scarred towns like Rotherham and Rochdale. That narrative may now be collapsing — and the accusations point straight at City Hall.
Investigations by The Daily Express and MyLondon uncovered at least six disturbing cases showing clear signs of organized, group-based sexual exploitation — the very pattern British officials long insisted didn’t exist in the capital. In one case, a 15-year-old girl was taken to a hotel by several men, drugged, and raped. Another involved a 17-year-old girl given alcohol by multiple men before suffering the same fate.
Former Greater Manchester Police detective and grooming gang whistleblower Maggie Oliver didn’t mince words: the first case was “100 percent a grooming gang.”
Yet, for years, Mayor Sadiq Khan and the Metropolitan Police insisted otherwise. Khan publicly denied that grooming gangs operated in London — even during tense exchanges with Conservative Assembly Member Susan Hall, where he at times feigned confusion over the term itself. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley also maintained there was “no evidence” of such networks.
Now, the tune has changed. Confronted with mounting evidence, Rowley admitted the Met currently has a “steady flow” of ongoing group-based child exploitation investigations, along with “a large number of historical cases.” Still, he seemed to caution against a deeper probe, warning it would cost “many, many, many millions of pounds… a year for several years.”
That remark raised eyebrows — and suspicions. Many now fear London’s leadership has repeated the same “see no evil” approach that allowed abusers in other towns to operate with impunity for decades. The alleged motive? Political correctness and fear of appearing racist.
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson blasted the mayor’s silence, saying Khan has “serious questions to answer.” Anderson added: “There is real, credible evidence that grooming gangs exist in London, and for the Mayor to have potentially turned a blind eye is utterly shameful. We cannot go on making the same catastrophic errors we saw in Rochdale and Rotherham.”
Conservative MP Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, went further: “It is shameful that the Mayor of London is claiming to have no indication that grooming gangs are operating in London despite personally responding to reports containing evidence of victims abused by grooming gangs in the city. It is clear Sadiq Khan is facilitating a cover up.”
Meanwhile, whistleblower Maggie Oliver told GB News that Khan “stonewalled” Susan Hall’s questions despite reports already being public. “Grooming gangs do operate in and out of London, and I’ve seen it before, but the Met are probably one of the last bastions able to pretend this doesn’t go on there,” she said.
The scandal comes just as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s national inquiry into grooming gangs descends into turmoil. Several survivor panel members have resigned, citing conflicts of interest — including ties between inquiry chairs and the very police and social care institutions accused of past cover-ups. One member, Fiona Goddard, also pointed to “affiliations” with the left-wing Labour Party, which controlled many local authorities during previous scandals.
The implications reach far beyond London. Once again, political sensitivities appear to have trumped justice — leaving victims unprotected and predators unchecked. For conservatives, the lesson is clear: when leadership prioritizes image over accountability, it’s the innocent who pay the price.
