EXCLUSIVE: The Hillingdon MP contacted the local council after being warned about a group’s activities.
Sadiq Khan has been hit with new revelations about a group in Hillingdon (Image: Express)
Boris Johnson contacted a West London council about an alleged grooming gang linked to Levi Bellfield by a council report, according to its author.
Just days before he entered 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister in 2019, Johnson met with Debbie Weissang, the former child sexual exploitation manager of Hillingdon Council, and discussed the work she’d done investigating a group allegedly operating in his constituency.
Prior to joining the West London local authority, Weissang had been instrumental in bringing a grooming gang in Peterborough to justice and was keen to use her expertise in the capital.
Her report, details from which were made public a year earlier, alleged serial killer Levi Bellfield and sex offender Suraj Gharu were linked to a child sex abuse ring of seven men that had at least 17 victims.
“I had a meeting with Boris at his constituency office. I shared all my findings and told him what I’d done, so he had all of the background story,” Weissang told the Express.
“I told him there had been a lot of activity by the gang in the pub opposite the council offices. The point I was trying to get across to Boris was that this has happened right on his doorstep to wake him up to the issue.
“He asked me, ‘what do you want?’ and I said I want to go back into Hillingdon with my team and help bring the group to justice. As I was walking out Boris said, ‘go get them’.
Boris Johnson was told about a grooming gang in Hillingdon (Image: Getty)
Sadiq Khan has come under fire for his handling of the grooming gangs scandal (Image: Getty)
“I later learned that he’d contacted the council and saw their response to him, which stated the matter was ‘being investigated’.”
We contacted Hillingdon Council about Johnson’s intervention, but they did not address it, stating only that it had passed over details to the Metropolitan Police in a timely manner.
Johnson’s office did not provide any details of who else the former Prime Minister spoke to after seeing Weissang’s information.
On Sunday, a survivor of the Hillingdon grooming gang called Crystalla made renewed calls for justice, criticising Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley for failing to act.
“We’re sick of screaming and shouting about it and nothing happening,” the singer/songwriter said.
“What I saw them inflict on my community without consequences was horrific. There were times when I found myself being the one to try and protect girls from exploitation because the people who were supposed to keep them safe let them down. Yet somehow, decades later, it is still us taking the risks and the perpetrators not facing justice. Things need to change.”
At the time Weissang’s report was made public, she’d raised concerns about how many of the alleged perpetrators who posed a “risk to children” were still at large. This was especially worrying as she claimed they believed “they’d done nothing wrong and are untouchable”.
When news coverage of the report appeared, both the police and the council confirmed they received a safeguarding report and were assessing it and investigating “where appropriate”.
The same year Johnson met with Weissang, he caused controversy on the Tory leadership campaign trail by suggesting that an awful lot of money was being “spaffed up the wall” on historic child abuse investigations. He added that what people wanted was “to see officers out on the streets”.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Officers are continuing with an investigation into alleged child sexual abuse in the Hillingdon area of west London.
“This investigation commenced in 2019 after the Met received a safeguarding report. Specialist detectives continue to progress this complex and detailed investigation and recognise the impact on those affected. They remain committed to investigating allegations fully and securing justice.
“The Met takes all allegations of child sexual and criminal exploitation extremely seriously, which is why we are currently reviewing around 9,000 cases and have significantly enhanced our approach to identifying and investigating group-based offending since 2022.
“This has led to a threefold increase in solved cases of child sexual exploitation over the past year, resulting in 134 additional suspects being charged.
“Our commitment to safeguarding victims and bringing offenders to justice is why we have launched the review.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Any individuals or grooming gangs exploiting children for sex are utterly abhorrent and Sadiq wants justice for every single victim of these horrific crimes. 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 led efforts to strengthen the protection of children from exploitation and harm in all its forms in London, including grooming gangs. Since taking office, he has ensured vital investment in specialist services to support child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, and driven forward long-overdue reforms in the way the Met protects children. This includes specifically commissioning HMICFRS to independently inspect the Met’s child protection arrangements in 2023 which has led to lasting improvements.
“The Mayor is clear that the Met must follow the evidence wherever it leads. He will continue to support and hold the Met to account to ensure it does everything possible to tackle child sexual exploitation in London, including grooming gangs.”
