EXCLUSIVE: MyLondon has seen a letter from the Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley revealing the force will review 9,000 cases in a major grooming gangs probe
The Metropolitan Police will review 9,000 cases in a massive grooming gangs probe after the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan assured Londoners there was ‘no indication’ of this type of abuse in the capital. The announcement comes days after a MyLondon and Express investigation exposed several potential cases in London that the Mayor had responded to directly.
Sir Sadiq has repeatedly stated there were “no reports” and “no indication” that London was blighted by the type of sexual exploitation that affected towns like Rochdale and Rotherham. But on Friday evening (October 24), MyLondon read a letter from the Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to the Mayor revealing the UK’s largest police force has thousands of cases to reassess.
In the three-page letter, London’s top cop tells Sir Sadiq he is “responding to questions about child sexual exploitation” adding that “any sexual offending against children is abhorrent but group-based offending, including that characterised as ‘Grooming Gangs’, is particularly insidious and devastating in its profound impact on the children affected.”
Met reveals 9,000 cases in London grooming gangs review
“Historically and across the UK, the cases of these child victims have not always been recognised and thoroughly investigated. Too often, victims have been disbelieved and even judged at times,” he continues, adding that: “the Met is committed to safeguarding all victims of these terrible offences and wherever possible bringing those responsible to justice.”
The Commissioner also said reports flagged by MyLondon and the Express would be among those reinvestigated by the force. The initial reviews, going back some 15 years to 2010, will be completed by April 2026, and will also include intra-familial, peer-on-peer and in institutional settings. The letter also revealed the Met has had 716 cases of CSE to investigate since April this year.
Baroness Louise Casey’s audit, published in June, showed there were some live investigations in London, and recommended a national review. But last week our investigation into public records was followed by a stunning U-turn from the Met Police Commissioner, who had previously told the Greater London Assembly his force had “not seen” Rotherham-style grooming gangs in London.
On Thursday (October 16), 24-hours after the deadline to our right-of-reply, Sir Mark said the force has a “steady flow” of live multi-offender child sexual exploitation investigations, and a “very significant” number of historic cases to review. Sir Mark said there were so many cases that a full review would cost “many, many, many millions of pounds” and last several years.
The Express/MyLondon investigation unearthed six potential grooming gang victims in Met Police inspection reports that were read by Sir Sadiq, including case studies where young girls were raped by groups of men. We also searched the National Archives to find horrifying cases from Tower Hamlets that were presented to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
When we presented the case studies to Rochdale police whistleblower Maggie Oliver, she claimed the Mayor and Met’s repeated denials in the face of such evidence followed “the same pattern” she had seen with Greater Manchester Police’s cover-up of the Rochdale scandal. Care expert and author Chris Wild also reviewed cases and concluded the Mayor was “deluded”.
Our investigation went viral on social media, led to blanket coverage on GB News, and follow-up pieces across national media. Former Times Reporter Julie Bindel, who broke the original story of grooming gang abuse in Northern towns in 2007, also credited MyLondon and the Express in her own investigation for UnHerd. The Evening Standard published their own findings soon after.
We have since published allegations of horrific sexual exploitation of teenage girls at hotels in Hounslow as recently as 2017, as well as a full interview with Wild, who claimed he worked with a young girl who was repeatedly taken away from a London children’s home by a group of men and raped, and that she would defecate to protect herself from the abuse.
MyLondon published the first of our investigative pieces on London’s grooming gangs over a month ago when we revealed using FOI laws that there was a three-year investigation into an alleged grooming gang in Hounslow. We then used a Subject Access Request to show the Mayor’s office removed a line from their press statement about there being ‘no indication’ of the rape groups.
Grooming gangs are ‘insidious’
A Met Police spokesperson said in a statement: “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.”
‘Sadiq has been consistently clear’
The Mayor has previously been accused of stonewalling questions from Susan Hall AM on grooming gangs, while also claiming there were “no reports” and “no indication” of Rochdale-style rape gangs in London. After the Home Office audit announced more than 1,000 cases were up for review nationally, the Mayor said there was “no indication” any of those were in London.
But last night 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.
“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 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.”
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