It comes after an Express investigation uncovered shocking evidence of grooming gangs in London.
Sir Sadiq Khan must resign as the Mayor of London after being accused of covering up evidence of grooming gangs in the capital, a Reform UK politician has said. The Labour mayor read reports of young girls being raped in hotels by groups of men while publicly denying there were any grooming gangs in London, an investigation by the Express and MyLondon has revealed.
Belinda de Lucy, Reform’s spokesperson for education and families, told the Daily Expresso podcast that she believes Sir Sadiq is “a curse” on London and “has to go” over the alleged cover up. “It’s like having a plague and no vaccination,” she told host JJ Anisiobi. “It makes me sick that he has any position of power in London.”
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan (Image: Getty)
Ms de Lucy said she doesn’t think Sir Sadiq will step down and wants to “hold on to power for as long as he can”.
In further scathing criticism of Sir Sadiq, who has been Mayor of London since 2016, Ms de Lucy claimed he “doesn’t care about Londoners” and hit out at his handling of issues such as knife crime and ULEZ.
She said “all he does is play the blame game”, adding: “He has to go. He has to go… My God, get out! Please.”
Evidence uncovered by the Express and MyLondon shows children were also plied with drugs and had their lives threatened.
Grooming gang whistleblower Maggie Oliver told the Express that the cases followed “the same pattern” she had seen with Greater Manchester Police’s cover-up of the Rochdale scandal.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP, accused Sir Sadiq of being part of a “cover-up” and called for accountability.
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson also said the mayor had “serious questions to answer”.
Sir Sadiq and the Metropolitan Police have consistently claimed to have “no reports” of Rochdale or Rotherham-style rape gangs in the capital, with the mayor suggesting there was “no indication” they exist.
However, in the pages of four different His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services reports from 2016-2025, which the Mayor of London personally responded to, the Express and MyLondon found details of six potential victims.
The investigation also found more victim case studies from the borough of Tower Hamlets, east London, in the evidence presented to the last grooming gangs inquiry.
After being shown the findings by the Express and MyLondon, the Met has made a major U-turn and admitted for the first time it has a “very significant number” of grooming gang investigations.
The mayor is yet to comment on the U-turn.
In response to the investigation by the Express and MyLondon, a spokesperson for Sir Sadiq earlier said: “The Mayor has always been clear that the safety of Londoners is his top priority and nowhere is this truer than in safeguarding children.
“Sadiq is committed to doing all he can to protect children in London from organised criminal and sexual exploitation and bring perpetrators to justice. This includes his £15.6million Violence and Exploitation Support Service which provides specialist support to young Londoners who are vulnerable, caught up in or being exploited by criminal gangs in the capital as well as supporting the Met to deliver a new child first approach to safeguarding and enforcement action to tackle county lines.
“We remain vigilant to emerging and changing threats and will continue to do everything we can to protect children in the capital from abuse, violence and exploitation in all its forms.”
Read the full investigation, including the Home Office’s response, here.
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