Children as young as nine are being repeatedly raped and abused as they are trafficked into London, it has been claimed, as pressure mounts on Mayor Sadiq Khan over allegations he covered up evidence of grooming gangs.
This comes just days after an Express investigation revealed the mayor has been accused of covering up evidence of grooming gangs in the capital despite reportedly reading reports of young girls being raped in hotels by groups of men.
The children were also plied with drugs and had their lives threatened, evidence uncovered by the Express and MyLondon shows.
Pressure is mounting on Sadiq Khan after he stated publicly that there are “no reports” of grooming gangs in the capital, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
Although Khan maintains there is no indication that grooming gangs are operating in London, one shocking case involves a 14-year-old girl found unconscious inside a London phone box after being targeted by a group of Bangladeshi men.
Victims Trafficked Across Capital
The Sun reports the case of one girl named Amy, who was repeatedly raped, abused and given drugs before being traded across the capital and Hertfordshire.
She is just one of countless young girls now-retired Met detective Jon Wedge has sought to find justice for, both during his time on the force and after.
He’s seen victims as young as nine among children trafficked for prostitution on an industrial scale in London, including being taken to high-end Mayfair restaurants and saunas.
“It’s not my job to tell the mayor what to do, but it was my responsibility to report to my superiors at the Met, and they failed these children again and again,” he told The Sun.
Detective Wedge left the force in 2017 after turning whistleblower, claiming he was threatened with losing his own children over his attempts to expose the scandal.
He feels the Met’s recent U-turn on acknowledging the problem has come too little too late.
“Where was the outcry and the support when I was saying all this stuff a decade ago?” he asked.
Accusations of Cover-Up
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP accused Khan of being part of a “cover-up” and called for accountability.
“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,” he said.
The Metropolitan Police are now reassessing 9,000 grooming gang cases in a new investigation, contradicting earlier claims by the London Mayor that no such incidents existed in the capital.
Initially, Mayor Khan asserted that there were “no reports” or “indications” that London was affected by the type of abuse seen in towns like Rochdale and Rotherham, where organised grooming gangs targeted hundreds of vulnerable girls.
Mayor’s Response
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London defended Khan’s position, saying: “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.”
They added: “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.
The statement appears to mark a shift from Khan’s previous denials that grooming gangs were operating in the capital.
Prime Minister Criticised
The Express reported earlier that grooming gang victims have hit out at a joint letter sent to them by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, accusing him of “making a mockery” of survivors as the inquiry faces further turmoil.
The criticism comes as the government faces mounting pressure to take more decisive action on historic child sexual exploitation cases across the country.
Survivors’ groups have expressed frustration with what they describe as inadequate responses from political leaders to the scale of abuse uncovered in multiple towns and cities.
Met Police Review
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “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.”
The force highlighted improvements made since 2022 in identifying and investigating group-based offending.
“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.”
9,000 Cases Under Review
The spokesperson confirmed the massive scale of the reinvestigation currently underway.
“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 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’.”
The review covers cases dating back 15 years and includes various forms of child sexual exploitation beyond the traditional understanding of organised grooming gangs.
“Our commitment to safeguarding all victims of such terrible offences and bringing those responsible to justice is absolute,” the spokesperson added.
Systemic Failures
The revelations have exposed systemic failures across multiple agencies responsible for protecting vulnerable children in the capital.
Detective Wedge’s whistleblowing claims that superiors at the Met repeatedly failed to act on evidence of industrial-scale child trafficking suggest a culture of institutional neglect.
His allegation that he was threatened with losing his own children for speaking out raises serious questions about how the Metropolitan Police handled internal dissent on the issue.
The case of Amy and countless other victims described by Detective Wedge paints a horrifying picture of organised criminal networks operating with apparent impunity in London.
Children being taken to high-end Mayfair restaurants and saunas suggests perpetrators operated across all areas of the capital, including its most exclusive districts.
Political Pressure Intensifies
The scandal has become a major political issue, with opposition parties demanding answers from both the Mayor of London and the government.
Questions are being asked about why it took years of whistleblowing and investigative journalism to force authorities to acknowledge the scale of the problem.
The contradiction between Khan’s public statements denying grooming gangs existed in London and evidence that he had read reports describing exactly such abuse has become a focal point of criticism.
Victims’ advocates are calling for a full independent inquiry into how authorities at all levels failed to protect vulnerable children from organised sexual exploitation in the capital.
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Image Credit:
Sadiq Khan — photo by Chabad Lubavitch, licensed under CC BY 2.0 (commons.wikimedia.org)
