Over the course of 2025, the London mayor has dodged questions on the topic on nine separate occasions, but now a former Metropolitan Police detective has claimed there was a “cover-up.”

Decorated former detective Jon Wedger claims he uncovered a trove of evidence suggesting that there is organised sexual exploitation of children in the capital on a level that goes way beyond notorious scandals in towns like Rotherham or Rochdale.

“I’d actually uncovered kids from the age of nine to 14 that were being trafficked for prostitution on an industrial scale,” he told the Express.

“They were being sold in crack houses, swapped for nine rocks of crack, then taken to hotels to have sex with builders that were working in central London. After that, the kids would then be taken to upmarket Arab restaurants in Mayfair around the Curzon Street, where they would be traded for as much as £2,000 each. That was happening on a daily basis.”

Whilst working in the London Borough of Haringey, Wedger said he identified 52 potential victims of a sex abuse ring that took children from care homes, six of whom were in dire need of help.

However, when he presented these findings to senior police officers and representatives from the local council he claims his efforts to safeguard victims and bring perpetrators to justice were blocked.

His cop bosses also stonewalled detailed reports about grooming gangs operating in Tower Hamlets, Croydon and Westminster.

“I was told if I ever mentioned what I’d uncovered, I would lose my home, job and children,” he claimed, “[because] this would “f***k the Metropolitan Police past, present and future.”

To back up his claims, the whistleblower showed the Express his police notebook from the time and contemporary reports sent to superiors, as well as his detailed statement submitted to the 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Wedger says he has been invited to participate in the upcoming inquiry commissioned by Keir Starmer in June.

The former detective said Mr Khan should be “removed immediately” for repeatedly refusing to accept the problem and continuing a policy of “willful neglect” that, he felt, amounted to an “act of malfeasance in high office.”

He added: “[Sadiq Khan] is a threat to the safety of vulnerable young children of every ethnicity and class. He’s dangerous [and] is the donkey leading the lions when it comes to child abuse.”

In February, the mayor rejected a proposal for a £4.49 million independent inquiry into the presence of grooming gangs in London.

This is in addition to the nine occasions he has refused to answer questions by Conservative politicians from the London Assembly about how many sex abuse rings might exist.

Wedger was appalled by one such exchange between the mayor and London Assembly member Susan Hall in which she asked him nine times about grooming gangs and his response was to call for her to clarify what she meant.

Wedger believes Khan’s behaviour in these sessions, footage of which has gone viral, was contributing to an environment where police officers who speak out about child abuse are “bullied and crushed” and suggested the dismissive answers could potentially push survivors of abuse to suicide.

A survivor of an East London grooming gang who spoke to the Express on the condition of anonymity said she was “disgusted” by the mayor’s response.

“The way he’s been acting is disgusting,” she said, “it is hard enough for victims of sexual abuse to come forward as it is. So to have a man with the power Sadiq Khan holds, pulling faces and making snide remarks in response to questions about grooming gangs only enables perpetrators.”

Responding to Wedger’s revelations, Mrs Hall said: “These abuses have been going on for years now, and we know that well-meaning people have been silenced for raising the alarm.

“It is my sincere wish that authorities – of all parties, organisations, and responsibilities – will take this horrific crime seriously and work together without fear or favour to get the victims the justice they deserve – the justice they need.”

Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said: “The comments by Jon Wedger are damning. This is yet another example of a cover-up by the police who shut down his investigations into child sexual exploitation in London.

“Sadiq Khan should be leaving no stone unturned to get to the bottom of organised child sexual exploitation in London – instead he has been facilitating a cover-up.

His view was supported by Reform UK MP Lee Anderson, who said it was time for “Sadiq Khan to either step down or be removed from office.”

“We cannot allow the continued destruction of our capital city or its further degradation on the world stage,” he added.

A grooming gang survivor who suffered abuse in South Yorkshire 20 years ago also hit out at the response from Khan.

‘Mandy’, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “Wherever there is evidence that grooming gangs either existed – or continue to exist – then those in power need to do everything they can to ensure those responsible are hauled before the courts and victims receive the justice they deserve.

“When the government announced the national inquiry earlier this year it felt like a big move forward however, this feels like it could yet again be a case of someone in a position of power ‘deliberately looking the other way’ just like too many have continued doing for the past two decades.”

In response to Wedger’s claims, a spokesperson for the Met said: “Our data shows the most prevalent threat to children and young people in London is criminal exploitation, particularly recruitment into county lines gangs, however we are not complacent to other types of exploitation such as offending by grooming gangs.

“We also accept this type of crime often goes under-reported and we are working to improve the quality of data we hold to ensure it is sufficiently comprehensive to enable us to make a definitive assessment about the issue.

“While this work takes place our priority remains on supporting victims and investigating alleged offences by following the facts and without fear or favour.”

A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “These accusations are false, malicious, and politically motivated.

“The Mayor is committed to doing everything in his power to build a safer London for everyone and has always been clear that all violence against women and girls must be treated with the utmost urgency – both by our police and society as a whole.”

A Haringey Council spokesperson said: “We have not been made aware of these historic allegations. Any concerns of this nature which are raised with us would be taken extremely seriously.

“Keeping our young children safe from harm has and will always be our number one priority.”