Reform UK's new candidate for London Mayor, Laila Cunningham, launched a blistering attack on Sadiq Khan over claims of a grooming gang scandal in the city. Ms Cunningham hit out at what she claimed was a "massive cover-up" as she spoke out on a Daily Express investigation, which exposed several potential grooming gang cases in London that appeared to have been overlooked.

She told the Daily Expresso podcast it was "absolutely disgusting" that the London Mayor had failed to answer questions on claims grooming gangs were operating in the capital. The former Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor warned Mr Khan that Reform UK would not "let those girls suffer in silence again" and people in power would "not get away with it".

In January last year, the Mayor denied that any such gangs operated in the city, saying that there were "no reports" or "indications" of gang activity in London, as seen in towns like Rochdale and Rotherham.

However, in October, the Metropolitan Police Force announced that it would review approximately 9,000 cases, despite the Mayor's earlier denials.

Speaking to JJ Anisiobi in November, Ms Cunningham, a Reform UK Westminster City councillor, said: "I think it's absolutely disgusting and sickening that Mark Riley said there were none and then a few months later, under public pressure, said, 'We're reviewing 9,000 cases.'

"And then a few weeks later said, 'Actually, it's not 9,000. We've reviewed those. There's a thousand something.. But we're going to need extra resources for the thousand something. So, we can't get through it quickly.'

"But you managed to review the 8,000 and something quickly. There's just a lot of questions to be answered."

Ms Cunningham claimed she had spoken to one of the grooming gang victims "from the North" who told her "a lot of them [victims] were driven up to London. A lot of the abusers had contacts in London".

She added: "I just do feel it's a cover-up and I feel it's absolutely disgusting, and whatever form it was, it needs to be. He hasn't commented on it at all.

"This needs to be public because we're not going to let those girls suffer in silence again, and we're not going to let anyone in power get away with it in London or anywhere in the country."

The London Mayor has come under renewed pressure over his handling of claims on Rotherham-style grooming gangs in London.

It follows a major Express investigation that spent months examining thousands of pages of documents, from death reviews to council reports, for evidence of the problem in London.

Our research identified at least 24 grooming gang cases across the capital, and we anticipate adding many more to that total as time goes on.

Behind almost every case on the list is a story of tragedy: an 11-year-old girl blamed for "seeking out older men", and a 16-year-old who took her own life after police failed to act on reports of rape and miscarriage.

Most shocking of all is a gang linked to Levi Bellfield - one of Britain's worst serial killers.