The Reform UK leader said there is evidence of vile perverts operating in the capital today.
Nigel Farage says London grooming gangs is the ‘last great scandal’ to be uncovered (Image: Getty Images)
Sadiq Khan is failing rape gang victims in the last “great grooming scandal to be uncovered”, Nigel Farage told the Daily Express.
The Reform UK leader said there is evidence of vile perverts operating in the capital today.
And he said, following an investigation by the Express and MyLondon, that “it looks like we are very close” to exposing the scale of the crimes committed in London.
Asked if Sir Sadiq should resign, Mr Farage told the Daily Express: “Yes, he’s been denying that there’s been grooming going on in London.
“The police, the Met have been denying grooming is going on in London.
“I can tell you today, somebody in this room has spoken to social services in London who openly said there are grooming gangs in London.
“It’s more difficult to spot a particular type of grooming gang in central London than it is in Rotherham just by the sheer size of the city, the different communities, in this city.
“Yes, maybe, Maggie Oliver made this point, maybe London is the last great grooming scandal to be uncovered.
“It looks like we are very close.”
It comes after Scotland Yard confirmed it will review of 9,000 child sexual exploitation cases.
The cases, covering a 15-year period, will be examined by the force following Baroness Louise Casey’s probe into the grooming grooming gangs scandal.
In a statement, the force said “many” of the approximately 9,000 cases did not fit the common understanding of grooming gang offending.
These include cases within families, peer-on-peer abuse and exploitation within institutional settings.
A Met 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.”
They said there had been “significant improvements” to how the force identifies and investigates group-based offending since 2022.
These include training for 11,000 frontline officers and an expansion of child exploitation teams.
In the past year, the Met said it had solved three times more cases of child sexual exploitation and charged 134 more suspects.
The spokesperson added: “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.”
