Depending on who you ask, the Sabbat both are and aren’t present in London. In the sense that there are Sabbat vampires in the city, the sect most certainly is here; some are hiding among the Anarchs, some are hiding among the Camarilla, some are just plain hiding, and there is, unsurprisingly, a regular supply of shovelheads released in the area to sow chaos and cause heartburn for Prince Anne. But in the larger sense, there is — at least as far as anyone knows or is willing to admit — no presence of the Sabbat as an organization. Rather, it’s a bunch of independent actors following their own plans, or, just as commonly, their own instincts.

And that ought to worry anyone with an interest in keeping the Sabbat out of London, because it almost certainly indicates that the sect is actually planning for their future conquest of the city, rather than just launching an all-out attack and hoping everything works out. Even worse, it suggests that the vampire, or vampires, responsible for that planning is both smart enough to see the need for it, and also powerful and influential enough to make sure that no one else takes the current situation as an invitation to try. The list of Sabbat who fit the bill is not a terribly long one, and none of the entries on that list are good news for the Camarilla.

As a result, Anne and her close advisers are extremely interested in even the hint of Sabbat activity in the greater London area. There are very few more effective ways to earn the Prince’s uncomfortably-close scrutiny than to be the subject of plausible rumors of Sabbat sympathies, or of having the Sabbat present in one’s territory, or knowing more about the Sabbat than a good Camarilla Kindred ought to, or … well, you get the idea.

Because her own rule is far from secure, however, Anne generally does not respond by committing her own allies to deal with such rumors, or with actual Sabbat presence; rather, she prefers to farm the jobs out to other Kindred. Easy jobs will get handed to someone of relatively low status, who won’t be missed if they fail and can be safely rewarded if they win — in which case, their clan’s elders will now have an additional rival to have to reckon with. Difficult jobs go to those of higher status, in the hope that either the Sabbat will rid her of a potential problem, or that someone else involved will distinguish themselves, giving her an excuse to elevate them, instead. There are, of course, the customary whispers that Anne has acted to make sure that particularly dangerous rivals meet Final Death, even at the cost of giving the Sabbat a win … but no one has ever been able to prove it.

The visible Sabbat presence in London tends toward the more martial clans — the Assamite, Brujah, Gangrel, and Ventrue antitribu, along with the Panders and a leavening of Serpents of the Light. It’s widely assumed that there are Toreador antitribu masquerading as main-clan members, and that there are both Nosferatu and Ravnos antitribu in the city who don’t care to be seen, but the Lasombra and the Tzimisce are both quite rare — which only serves as a further source of worry for the Camarilla.

An exception to that general rule is Lasombra antitribu Stephen Lenoir, who has a not-inconsiderable history of assisting ex-Sabbat members in finding a place in London. Lenoir holds no formal office, and indeed avoids politics, which is very likely the reason he has survived as long as he has.