The Metropolitan Police has launched a sweeping review of 9,000 cases of child sexual exploitation across London, a move that marks a dramatic shift in the capital’s official approach to grooming gangs and group-based abuse. This unprecedented probe, announced late October 2025, comes after years of controversy, criticism, and revelations that have shaken public confidence in the city’s ability to protect its most vulnerable residents.
According to BBC News, the cases under review span a 15-year period and include not just the so-called "grooming gangs" that have dominated headlines in towns like Rochdale and Rotherham, but also intra-familial, peer-on-peer, and institutional settings. The Met’s decision follows the publication of Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in June 2025, which concluded that such exploitation was more widespread, organized, and underreported than previously acknowledged. The audit also found a "mismatch" in how the Metropolitan Police and local authorities recorded child abuse, and noted that the ethnicity of perpetrators had often been "shied away from" by officials.
The force’s sudden change in tone and strategy has drawn both praise and sharp criticism from across the political spectrum. For years, London Mayor Sadiq Khan had insisted there was "no indication" of grooming gangs operating in the capital, a stance he repeated in statements and press releases. Yet, as MyLondon and the Express reported, a series of inspectorate and public records investigations unearthed multiple cases where young girls—some as young as 13—were preyed upon by groups of men in London. These revelations included harrowing details: a 15-year-old missing for four days before telling police she’d been raped by numerous men; a 13-year-old deemed at high risk, with officers identifying two men suspected of exploiting her; and a 16-year-old who said she was raped repeatedly over three years by a group that threatened her and her family.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, in a letter seen by MyLondon, acknowledged the scale of the problem and the need for a comprehensive review. "Any sexual offending against children is abhorrent but group-based offending, including that characterised as ‘Grooming Gangs’, is particularly insidious and devastating in its profound impact on the children affected," Rowley wrote. He admitted that, "historically and across the UK, the cases of these child victims have not always been recognised and thoroughly investigated. Too often, victims have been disbelieved and even judged at times." He pledged, "The Met is committed to safeguarding all victims of these terrible offences and wherever possible bringing those responsible to justice."
The review, which is expected to take several years and cost "many, many, many millions of pounds," will reassess cases dating back to 2010. The Met confirmed that 716 cases of child sexual exploitation have already been investigated since April 2025 alone. The force also revealed that since 2022, it has trained 11,000 frontline officers and expanded its child exploitation teams, resulting in three times more cases solved in the past year and 134 more suspects charged.
Despite these recent advances, the Met’s and the Mayor’s previous denials have come under intense scrutiny. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Sadiq Khan of "facilitating a cover-up" by denying the existence of grooming gangs in the capital, even as evidence mounted to the contrary. "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," Philp told the Express.
Survivors and advocates have also voiced frustration. In the wake of the review’s announcement, several members of the victims and survivors liaison panel for Labour’s grooming gangs inquiry resigned, with one survivor, identified only as Elizabeth, writing that the process felt like "a cover-up" and had "created a toxic environment" for survivors. Maggie Oliver, the former police whistleblower who exposed the Rochdale scandal, drew parallels between the Met’s previous denials and the "same pattern" she witnessed in Greater Manchester’s mishandling of abuse cases.
The Mayor’s office, for its part, has pushed back against accusations of inaction. A spokesperson stated, "The Mayor has always been clear that the safety of Londoners is his top priority and nowhere is this truer than in safeguarding children. Sadiq is committed to doing all he can to protect children in London from organised criminal and sexual exploitation and bring perpetrators to justice." The spokesperson highlighted the Mayor’s £15.6 million Violence and Exploitation Support Service, which offers specialist support to young Londoners vulnerable to criminal gangs. "We remain vigilant to emerging and changing threats and will continue to do everything we can to protect children in the capital from abuse, violence and exploitation in all its forms."
Yet, as MyLondon and Express investigations showed, the Mayor’s office had at times removed lines from press statements about there being "no indication" of rape groups, and had stonewalled questions from Assembly Members on the issue. The pressure mounted after Baroness Casey’s audit recommended a national review and found live investigations in London, contradicting earlier official assurances.
The scale and complexity of the review are daunting. Sir Mark Rowley told the London Assembly that there was a "steady flow" of live multi-offender child sexual exploitation investigations and a "very significant" number of historic cases to review. He conceded that the cost and duration would be considerable, but insisted that the Met’s "commitment to safeguarding all victims of such terrible offences and bringing those responsible to justice is absolute." The review is set to be completed by April 2026.
Cases to be reviewed include not just those that fit the public’s image of grooming gangs, but also intra-familial, peer-on-peer, and institutional settings. As the Met explained, "The Met takes all allegations or concerns about child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation incredibly seriously and always investigates, following the evidence without fear or favour." Since 2022, substantial improvements in training and team expansion have begun to bear fruit, but campaigners argue that only a full reckoning with the past will restore faith in the system.
The revelations have triggered a wave of media coverage and public debate, with former Times reporter Julie Bindel and care expert Chris Wild both crediting the recent investigations for breaking open the story and challenging official narratives. Wild, who has worked with victims in London, described cases where girls were repeatedly taken from children’s homes and subjected to abuse, sometimes resorting to desperate measures to protect themselves.
As London’s authorities embark on this massive review, the city faces a reckoning with its past failures and a test of its resolve to protect children going forward. The hope among survivors and advocates is that this time, every stone truly will be turned, and every victim heard.
