Event: UK

The capital is just as plagued by these sick crimes as other cities in the UK. In a now notorious exchange, London mayor Sadiq Khan said last year there was no ‘indication’ that grooming gangs – of the kind that have plagued towns such as Rotherham and Telford – exist in London. Evidence uncovered by the BBC last week has exposed the foolishness of this claim. It is now indisputable that vulnerable women and girls, some as young as 14, are being lured into a world of rape and exploitation by grooming gangs in London. The revelations make for bleak reading. Some women said they had been raped as ‘payment’ for unpaid drug debts. Others said they were groomed specifically for sex. The BBC investigation followed a decision by the Metropolitan Police, in October, to reopen 1,200 cases of child sexual exploitation from between 2010 and 2025. The decision was made by the Met after an investigation by the Standard found that many young girls in London reported allegations of rape, but were met with indifference by police. Khan’s belief that London was somehow immune from grooming gangs was always fanciful, if not outright dishonest. Perpetrators have tended to work on taxi networks and in fast-food outlets, taking advantage of unsupervised young women – many of them also victims of a crumbling care system. Obviously, the capital isn’t short on taxis and fast-food shops. Met deputy assistant commissioner Kevin Southworth has said that grooming-gang activity is ‘very high’ on the force’s ‘threat and risk radar’, and said it was committed to putting as much of its resources into tackling the problem ‘as possible’. These comments are indeed a relief, particularly when Khan himself, who is directly responsible for policing in London, has shown such little interest in the scandal. The…