Susan Hall, who also leads the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, stated that the public required ‘transparency.’ According to the former Conservative mayoral candidate, a local investigation into the degree to which grooming gangs operate in London is “absolutely” necessary.
Susan Hall, who also leads the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, stated that the public needs “transparency” on the matter, adding, “In a city of nine million people, I cannot imagine we don’t have this going on.” Ms Hall spoke after interviewing Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Kaya Comer-Schwartz at City Hall on Wednesday.
Mr. Twist declined to comment explicitly on whether grooming groups like those seen in Rotherham and Rochdale operate in the capital during the discussion. Still, he reassured the committee that the Met remained dedicated to combating “child exploitation.”
Ms Hall told the PA news agency, “I know there’s a lot of excellent work going on in what they call ‘the space’ right now.”But it remains the central question. Do we have grooming gangs in London? Nobody appears to want to answer. This is significant since A represents transparency. We should know.
“But B, if they know this type of thing is happening, the public will be more alert to watch out for it…” If we’re hearing today, ‘Well, we don’t have that,’ which they’re saying without stating, people will get complacent.” Ms Hall stated that a local inquiry was “absolutely” required for London, adding: “I cannot imagine, with nine million people living in an area, that we don’t have this going on.”Because there is a lot of poverty in some parts of London, there are a lot of looked-after children and children from really vulnerable families. “I can’t think it’s not happening here. I’d like to pretend it wasn’t.
