Sadiq Khan humiliated as Met Police makes huge London grooming gangs U-turn

The Metropolitan Police has made a stunning U-turn by admitting for the first time it has a "very significant number" of grooming gang investigations after being presented with the findings of an Express and MyLondon investigation.

Campaigners told the Express they were relieved to hear the Met "acknowledge what so many of us have been saying for years" and claimed it showed the force had realised there was "no point lying anymore".

Speaking to the London Assembly on Thursday, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley reversed years of denials by stating the force had a "steady flow" of live multi-offender child sexual exploitation probes in addition to a substantial volume of historic cases.

Just 24 hours earlier, we'd pressed the Met on how many cases were being reinvestigated as a result of the Home Office's grooming gangs review. And, after refusing to answer our question, Rowley told the regional assembly that they had so many cases to re-examine that the costs would be "many" millions.

"The number of cases is going to be very significant," he said in response to a question from Labour Assembly Member Len Duvall.

"If we were to do a full investigative review and reinvestigations of them all that is going to be many, many, many millions of pounds. Millions of pounds a year for several years."

Until now, the Metropolitan Police has denied that the capital has a problem with grooming gangs.

As recently as February, Rowley told Lord Bailey of Paddington "I cannot guarantee there is something out there that we have not seen" in response to the former mayoral candidate asking if London has "a significant problem around child sexual exploitation gangs".

That position changed after the force was presented with findings of an Express and MyLondon investigation that showed Sadiq Khan had read and responded to Met Police inspection reports with victim case studies that experts ruled had "typical" and "textbook" grooming gang patterns.

One of those who examined our evidence was Rochdale whistleblower detective Maggie Oliver, who said the findings had prompted "a spark of honesty".

"After decades of denying the existence of the 'grooming gang' type of child abuse in London this expose by the Express is finally forcing at least a spark of honesty from those who would prefer to cover it up," she said.

"This 180-degree 'turn around' replicates what I have seen in my 13 years of exposing similar failures and cover ups in Rochdale, Manchester, Barrow and many other areas throughout the country.

"It is just the latest example of how facing personal threats yet still speaking out and focusing on those complicit on this corruption and cover ups in high places is gradually breaking down the walls of our public institutions.

"'People power' is forcing the Met to finally tell the truth, even though they fight and lie right up to the point where they know the truth is out, so there's no point in lying anymore.

"And this thorough expose in the Express is the latest example of how these lies are being exposed - but tragically it is far too late for all those victims who have been blamed, abandoned and discredited by our protective agencies as they prefer to protect their organisation rather than tackle the monsters in these gangs who are destroying so many innocent lives."

Chris Wild, who has warned for years that the capital has grooming gangs, said this was a belated acceptance of what had been obvious on-the-ground all along.

"As someone who has spent over a decade on the frontline and written two books exposing the failings within children's social care, I'm relieved to finally hear the Metropolitan Police acknowledge what so many of us have been saying for years - that grooming gangs are a serious and ongoing problem in London," he said.

"It should never have taken countless journalists and years of ignored warnings for this truth to be accepted.

"The Metropolitan Police's recognition is long overdue. Now words must turn into action. Frontline workers, victims, and communities deserve more than apologies - they deserve justice, accountability, and lasting change."

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: "We understand the very real concern the public have around so-called grooming gangs and treat all allegations of sexual offences and exploitation extremely seriously.

"Our data shows the group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation picture in London is more varied than in other parts of the country and does not neatly align with patterns of methodology, ethnicity or nationality seen elsewhere and reported on extensively.

"We are utterly committed to protecting vulnerable children and bringing those responsible to justice. There is still much work to be done, including encouraging reporting of offences so we have the fullest possible picture, but we have made significant improvements in the past decade to enable us to do that effectively."

The Mayor of London has yet to comment on the Met's U-turn. Speaking about the Home Office's grooming gangs review in June he said there was "no indication" that any of the cases were in the capital.