Sir Sadiq Khan was involved in a heated City Hall exchange earlier today after refusing to answer if he was aware of any grooming gangs operating in London.
The Mayor faced questions from former London Tory leader Susan Hall, who demanded to know if he was aware of any gangs operating in the capital.
But when pressed, Khan asked: “Can she define what she means by that?”
Hall referred to the abuse gangs in areas such as Rotherham and Bradford, but again Khan asked: “What does she mean by that?”
The Mayor conceded that young people were exploited in London, but claimed that the exploitation was “not as defined” by Hall.
Pressed again on the issue, the Mayor said: “To avoid a misunderstanding, what does she mean by that?”
He again asked Hall to “spell it out” after another explanation of group localised child sexual exploitation.
Hall said that they were “the sort of gangs that groom young girls at a young age for sex. How much clearer do you want me to be?”
The row happened in the London Assembly this morning before Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that the Government would provide funding for a set of five local reviews into the grooming gangs scandal.
The Minister said that £10million had been provided to look into the issue, which will focus on Oldham Council and four other pilot areas to test and develop that an approach led by Tom Crowther KC, who organised the Telford inquiry.
Responding to Cooper’s announcement, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “What the Home Secretary has announced today is totally inadequate.
“It will only cover a fraction of the towns affected, and the inquiries appear they will not have the powers they need.
“That is why we need a proper national public inquiry, covering the whole country and with powers under the inquiry act to obtain the evidence needed.”
GB News has approached Khan for comment.