Sir Sadiq Khan has been branded an “absolute snake” over his handling of the grooming gangs scandal in a fiery tirade by a passionate campaigner on GB News.
Speaking with presenter Dawn Neesom, Freedom from Abuse campaigner Marilyn Hawes discussed the Mayor’s response to grooming gangs operating in the Capital.
The national inquiry into grooming gangs will “leave no stone unturned” and investigate scale of abuse of children in London, Sir Keir Starmer pledged on Friday.
But his Labour colleague has previously suffered a slew of criticism for dodging questions surrounding the national rape gangs scandal in the city’s debating chamber, leading many to believe that Sir Keir’s words were a swipe at the Labour Mayor.
Speaking on GB News, Ms Hawes fumed: “No one protects kids in this country. I think he’s an absolute snake. I cannot stand Sadiq Khan, I really can’t Sadiq Khan.
“I’m also confused that he’s saying that, having said he didn’t think it exists, there are barbaric rape gangs on an industrial scale across the UK, Mr Mayor.”
Sir Sadiq previously claimed that identifying rape gangs in London was far more complex than smaller towns and cities, such as Rochdale on the outskirts of the major city of Manchester.
Up in arms in absolute fury, the campaigner fumed: “How? Why? I mean, it’s a blueprint. You have the hook – who targets the youngsters?
The campaigner shredded SIr Sadiq over his treatment of the grooming gangs scandal in London
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“Then you have the co-ordinators, which are the cars, the taxis, the big blacked out windows and all of that.
“And then you have the perpetrators. And those perpetrators are often three times older than the children that have been selected.
“Now Sadiq Khan, if he has ignored, denied, doesn’t understand how these gangs work, could he step aside, please?
“Could Keir Starmer do the first decent thing and get rid of him because he’s not fit for purpose? He’s just not fit for purpose. And this should be without fear or favour.
Susan Hall joined GB News presenter Matt Goodwin to criticise the London mayor
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“And if you’ve got thousands and hundreds – and you will have – of Pakistani Bangladeshi men – tough.
“You arrest them, you deport them, you put them behind bars and you get rid of your two-tier policing because it does exist.
“It just drives me mad. It really does. You know, what’s the point in these ladies – what’s the point in them having had that courage to come forward if they are going to be silenced?”
In the London Assembly, the mayor has repeatedly claimed to fail to understand queries catapulted at him from his Conservative opposition, Susan Hall.
Back in January, the Tory leader asked Sir Sadiq on nine occasions if there were rape gangs operating, either presently or historically, in London.
But he simply insisted that he was “not clear what she means” and, following clarification on the question by Ms Hall with specific reference to the rape gangs in Rotherham and Bradford, the Labour mayor claimed he was “none the wiser”.
Last month, the Metropolitan Police announced they would re-investigate 9,000 child sex abuse cases, informing the mayor alleged grooming gang and child exploitation cases from the past 15 years will make up the probe.
The review is part of Operation Beaconport, which is a national project to shed light on previous failures to combat group-based child sexual exploitation.
Earlier this month, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley informed the London Assembly that his force had reviewed 2,200 of the 9,000 cases and had revealed approximately 1,200 remained in scope.
He forecast that the number would fall further as the investigation progresses, leaving “maybe 2,000 or 3,000 cases” to be re-assessed.