Last night Ms Hall said the letter from Sir Mark showed “the severity of the problem of grooming gangs operating here, right under the noses of regional and national authorities is far worse than even I imagined.”
She said: “Since January, I have repeatedly raised this issue of the existence of grooming gangs in London, to the Mayor and other authorities. I have been repeatedly stonewalled on this matter until the Commissioner finally accepted and admitted that these gangs indeed operated here in the capital, which he declared a couple of weeks ago in a meeting of the Police and Crime Committee.”
Ms Hall added: “As for the contempt shown to me by our Mayor Sadiq Khan for having the audacity to ask the very question – ‘do we have rape gangs in London’ – I will let Londoners take a view on that.”
Jon Wedger, a retired detective who left the Metropolitan Police in 2017 after 25 years of service, has since taken up the fight to prove gangs are grooming girls for sex in London.
He claims that in 2006 he was told to stop investigating cases of 50 children who had been groomed and sexually abused in London, even though he had evidence such as car registration details of perpetrators. He suggests the problem has not gone away.
Mr Wedger told The Times: “There are hotspots all over the place. We came across a girl who’d been on the street since she was 14. She’s a kid … it was a busy street, drivers come along and then go round the corner to have sex with the kids.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Any individuals or gangs exploiting children for sex are utterly abhorrent. Sadiq is quite clear that they must face the full force of the law. 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 consistently been clear to the Met that no stone must be left unturned in pursuing justice for the victims of grooming gangs and ensuring the vile perpetrators are brought to justice
They added: “The Mayor remains vigilant to emerging and changing threats around child exploitation and will continue to support and hold the Met to account to ensure it does everything possible to tackle child sexual exploitation in London.”
