Sadiq Khan squirms as he's challenged on grooming gangs during tense ITV News interview

Sadiq Khan, London's embattled Mayor, squirmed as he was challenged about grooming gangs during an ITV News interview on 28 October, just days after the Metropolitan Police announced a review of 9,000 child sexual exploitation cases over the past 15 years. Critics, including Reform UK's Nigel Farage and Conservative London Assembly Member Susan Hall, have accused the Mayor of denying the issue for years and providing evasive responses, claiming his handling of the matter has prioritised political caution over urgent action.

The review, prompted by concerns over historical failures in addressing child sexual exploitation, examines cases dating back to 2010. It follows recommendations from the 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which highlighted systemic shortcomings across the UK. The Metropolitan Police aim to reassess these files for missed opportunities, improved protocols for identifying group-based offending, and enhanced victim support mechanisms. Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, in a January statement, had already distanced London from the "grooming gangs" terminology associated with high-profile scandals in northern towns, a position Mr Khan reiterated during the interview.

When questioned on similarities to cases in Rotherham and Rochdale, where groups from one ethnic background-predominantly British-Pakistani men-targeted victims from another, often white girls, Mr Khan stressed differences in London.

He insisted: "Those horrific cases are not the sort of cases we've seen in London, they're more complex," citing examples such as "group based child sex exploitation, gang based exploitation and other forms of sexual abuse".

He emphasised that the term "grooming gangs" means "different things in London, in terms of grooming young people to the northern town cases".

Mr Khan noted that police have been "quite clear" about the absence of "specific systemic cases" involving clear ethnic divides, although the review applies a "really wide definition" that includes peer-on-peer abuse, care home failures, and family incidents. This broader approach, he argued, will ensure comprehensive scrutiny without stigmatising communities.

Ms Hall, a vocal critic, claimed that Mr Khan avoided her eight direct questions on the topic during a January London Assembly session and dismissed her concerns as misguided.

Mr Farage described London as the potential epicentre of a major grooming gang scandal and criticised Mr Khan and the Metropolitan Police for failing to address problems earlier, suggesting institutional reluctance had allowed abuses to persist.

In a pointed intervention, Conservatives proposed an independent inquiry through a budget amendment earlier in the year, which was rejected by Labour, Greens, and Liberal Democrats.

The vote underscored partisan divisions, with opponents arguing it reflected a reluctance to confront uncomfortable truths in favour of maintaining political alliances.

Mr Khan committed to transparency in the review process, saying: "The police will be fully transparent with Londoners-because it's really important the police go back 15 years." He pledged to leave "no stone unturned" to ensure justice is delivered.

Mr Khan further acknowledged the need for precision in language, adding: "I think it's really important to be precise in terms of what is meant... Clarity is really important when it comes to these sorts of issues." However, when pressed on whether he could have been clearer in past exchanges, Mr Khan deflected by focusing on definitions.

Experts have warned that without addressing root causes-like poverty, inadequate social care, and gang recruitment in deprived areas-the capital risks repeating past oversights.

The police have pledged to investigate all allegations thoroughly, prioritising survivor testimonies and swift referrals to support services.

Mr Khan is under renewed pressure to demonstrate leadership beyond rhetoric and critics are likely to argue that his emphasis on complexity, while defensible in policy terms, fuels perceptions of reluctance to engage directly with the most harrowing aspects of these scandals.