Met Police set to open 9K grooming gang cases after Sadiq Khan said there were none

The Metropolitan Police has reopened 9,000 grooming gang cases after the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said there were none.

The huge announcement comes after an Express/MyLondon investigation exposed several potential grooming gang cases in London that were overlooked.

Khan has repeatedly stated there were "no reports" or "indications" that London was blighted by the type of abuse that affected towns like Rochdale and Rotherham.

But in a stunning release on Friday evening, the Met has now revealed it has 9,000 cases to reassess.

After being presented with the findings of our investigation, the Metropolitan Police U-turned on its earlier claims that it had "not seen" Rotherham-style grooming gangs in London.

Speaking to the London Assembly on Thursday last week, Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said a "very significant number" of grooming gang investigations were being reopened.

Rowley said there were so many cases that a full review was "going to be many, many, many millions of pounds" and last several years.

Mr Rowley also said the Met was working on a "steady flow" of live multi-offender child sexual exploitation investigations.

His statements came after an Express/MyLondon investigation unearthed six potential grooming gang victim cases in Met Police reports read by Sadiq Khan.

The shocking cases included reports of young girls being raped in hotels by groups of men while others were plied with drugs and having their lives threatened.

When the Express presented the cases to Rochdale grooming gang 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.

Khan has publically denied the existence of grooming gangs in London. He previously said there were "no reports" and "no indication" of organised rape gangs in the capital.

The Mayor of London has been accused of "facilitating a cover up" by denying London has a grooming gangs problem.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Express on Sunday: "It is shameful that the Mayor of London is claiming to have no indication that grooming gangs are operating in London despite personally responding to reports containing evidence of victims abused by grooming gangs in the city. It is clear Sadiq Khan is facilitating a cover up."