London Mayor Sadiq Khan is under pressure to resign due to his refusal to acknowledge the significant issue of grooming gangs in London.
This follows a police whistleblower’s disclosure to the Express that the “horrific crime” had been prevalent in London for two decades.
Throughout 2025, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has evaded enquiries on the subject nine times; nonetheless, a former Metropolitan Police investigator has asserted that there was a “cover-up.”
Former decorated detective Jon Wedger asserts that he has discovered substantial evidence indicating that systematic sexual exploitation of minors in the capital exceeds the notable scandals observed in locations such as Rotherham or Rochdale.
“I had discovered children aged nine to fourteen who were being trafficked for prostitution on an industrial scale,” he informed the Express.
“They were sold in drug dens, exchanged for nine rocks of crack, and subsequently taken to hotels to engage in sexual activities with construction workers in central London.”
Subsequently, the children would be transported to upscale Arab eateries in Mayfair, near Curzon Street, where they could be exchanged for as much as £2,000 each. That occurred daily.
During his tenure in the London Borough of Haringey, Wedger reported identifying 52 possible victims of a sex abuse ring that targeted youngsters from care homes, six of whom were in urgent need of assistance.
Nevertheless, when he conveyed these results to top police officials and local council leaders, he asserts that his attempts to protect victims and ensure accountability for perpetrators were obstructed.
His police superiors also obstructed comprehensive reports of grooming groups functioning in Tower Hamlets, Croydon, and Westminster.
He asserted, “I was warned that if I ever disclosed my findings, I would forfeit my home, employment, and children,” adding that this would “compromise the Metropolitan Police’s past, present, and future.”
To substantiate his assertions, the whistleblower presented the Express with his police notebook from that period, contemporaneous reports made to superiors, and his comprehensive testimony provided to the 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Wedger states he has received an invitation to partake in the forthcoming probe commissioned by Keir Starmer in June.
The former detective asserted that Mr. Sadiq Khan ought to be “dismissed forthwith” for persistently denying the issue and perpetuating a policy of “willful neglect,” which he deemed an “act of malfeasance in high office.”
He stated: “[Sadiq Khan] poses a risk to the safety of vulnerable young children across all ethnicities and social classes.” He poses a significant threat and is the misguided leader among the powerful on child abuse.
In February, the mayor dismissed a plan for a £4.49 million independent investigation into the existence of grooming gangs in London.
This is supplementary to the nine instances in which he has declined to respond to enquiries from Conservative MPs of the London Assembly regarding the potential number of sex abuse rings that may exist.
Wedger was dismayed by an exchange between the mayor and London Assembly member Susan Hall, during which she enquired nine times about grooming gangs, to which he responded by requesting clarification of her meaning.
Wedger contends that Sadiq Khan’s conduct during these meetings, the tape of which has become viral, fosters an atmosphere in which police officers who report child abuse are “bullied and crushed,” and posits that the dismissive responses could potentially drive survivors of abuse to suicide.
A survivor of an East London grooming gang, who requested anonymity while speaking to the Express, expressed her “disgust” at Sadiq Khan’s response.
“His behaviour is reprehensible,” she stated, “as it is already challenging for victims of sexual abuse to come forward.” The behaviour of a man with the authority of Sadiq Khan, who responds to enquiries on grooming gangs with facial expressions and disparaging comments, merely empowers the offenders.
In response to Wedger’s disclosures, Mrs. Hall stated: “These abuses have persisted for years, and we are aware that well-intentioned individuals have been muted for sounding the alarm.”
I earnestly hope that all authorities, regardless of their affiliations, will address this egregious crime with the seriousness it warrants and collaborate impartially to secure the justice that the victims rightfully deserve.
Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, stated: “Jon Wedger’s remarks are incriminating.” This exemplifies yet another instance of a police cover-up, as they terminated investigations into child sexual exploitation in London.
Sadiq Khan must exhaust all avenues to uncover the truth behind organised child sexual exploitation in London; instead, he has been complicit in a cover-up.
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson endorsed his perspective, adding that it was time for “Sadiq Khan to either resign or be ousted from office.”
“We must prevent the ongoing devastation of our capital city and its subsequent decline in global standing,” he stated.
A survivor of a grooming gang who endured abuse in South Yorkshire two decades ago criticised Khan’s response.
‘Mandy’, desiring anonymity, stated: “In instances where evidence indicates the existence or ongoing presence of grooming gangs, authorities must take all necessary measures to ensure that those accountable are prosecuted and that victims obtain the justice they rightfully deserve.”
The government’s announcement of the national inquiry earlier this year initially appeared to signify substantial progress, but it now seems that it may once again represent a situation in which those in positions of authority are ‘wilfully ignoring’ the issue, as has been the case for the past two decades.
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