New Sadiq Khan grooming gangs bombshell as Boris Johnson’s ‘intervention’ revealed

New information has come out about a suspected grooming gang in Hillingdon, and it has put fresh pressure on Sadiq Khan and the authorities. According to a former council employee, Boris Johnson personally contacted Hillingdon Council about the case just days before he became Prime Minister in 2019.

Debbie Weissang, who previously worked as the child sexual exploitation manager for Hillingdon Council, said she met Johnson at his constituency office and told him everything she had discovered about a group of men allegedly abusing vulnerable girls. Before working in London, she had played a major role in helping prosecute a grooming gang in Peterborough, so she brought both experience and concerns to her role in Hillingdon.

Weissang’s earlier report—parts of which were released a year before her meeting with Johnson—linked serial killer Levi Bellfield and sex offender Suraj Gharu to a group of around seven men suspected of abusing at least 17 girls. She said the gang operated openly in local areas, even in a pub across from the council offices.

She explained that she wanted Johnson to understand that the abuse was happening “right on his doorstep.” According to her, Johnson asked what she needed, and she said she wanted permission to go back into Hillingdon with her team to help bring the suspects to justice. As she left, he allegedly told her, “Go get them.”

Later, she learned that Johnson had contacted the council about the issue, and the response he received stated only that the matter was “being investigated.” Hillingdon Council did not comment further, only saying they had passed the information to the Metropolitan Police. Johnson’s office did not clarify who else he spoke to about the case after hearing Weissang’s concerns.

One of the survivors, a woman named Crystalla, has recently spoken out again. She says she is frustrated that nothing has been done and that both Sadiq Khan and Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley have failed to act. She described how she and others in the community had to step in to protect vulnerable girls because authorities simply weren’t doing enough. She said it is unacceptable that decades later, victims are still fighting for justice while many offenders remain free.

When Weissang’s report was first publicized, she warned that several of the men she identified as dangerous were still walking around the community. She feared they believed they were “untouchable” because no one had held them accountable.

At the time, both the council and the police said they were reviewing the safeguarding report and investigating “where appropriate.” But progress seemed slow, and Johnson even stirred controversy during his leadership campaign when he suggested too much money was being spent on historical child abuse investigations instead of putting more officers on the streets.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police says the investigation is active and ongoing. They confirmed that they began looking into the case in 2019 after receiving the safeguarding report. They said specialist detectives are working on the complex investigation and stressed that they understand how deeply this affects victims.

The Met claims it has improved the way it handles child sexual exploitation cases since 2022 and that solved cases have tripled in the past year. They say 134 more suspects have been charged as a result of their new approach, and they are reviewing thousands of cases across London.

Sadiq Khan’s office responded by saying that he finds grooming gangs “utterly abhorrent” and wants justice for all victims. They noted that since becoming Mayor, he has invested in specialist services for children affected by sexual abuse and pushed for major reforms in how the Met protects children. Khan also commissioned an independent inspection of the Met’s child protection systems in 2023, which led to long-term improvements.

Khan’s office said he expects police to “follow the evidence wherever it leads” and that he will continue holding the Metropolitan Police accountable to make sure they do everything possible to protect children and bring offenders to justice.