Pressure is mounting on the government to find a way around legal restrictions preventing the deportation of Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang. Despite being stripped of his British citizenship, the 73-year-old cannot be removed from the UK due to a loophole in the 1971 Immigration Act, which protects anyone who has lived in the country for more than 50 years.
Ahmed's Crimes and Sentence
Ahmed was convicted in 2012 at Liverpool Crown Court for the decades-long sexual abuse of a girl, luring victims as young as 13 to two takeaway restaurants in Rochdale with drink and drugs. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison for 30 child rapes, forcing his victims to call him 'Daddy'. His sentence was later increased by 12 months for repeatedly stamping on another inmate's head, yet he was released after serving just 14 years.
Legal Barriers to Deportation
The 1971 Immigration Act provides protection from deportation for individuals who have resided in the UK for over 50 years, a provision that applies to Ahmed. Even if ministers find a way to deport him, Pakistan may refuse to accept him. Foreign Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been urged to take drastic action, such as restricting visas or cancelling aid payments, to compel Islamabad to agree to his return.
Former Greater Manchester Police detective and rape gang campaigner Maggie Oliver told GB News: "My anger is that law was in place in 2012. So whilst we're being told these men are going to be deported, it was known, or should have been known, that that was going to be impossible."
Political Reactions
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: "It is shameful that a vile perpetrator of child rape and grooming is remaining in our country even after his sentence has been completed. Any country that refuses to take back their own nationals should immediately have all foreign aid payments suspended and visa sanctions on an escalating scale should be imposed."
A No 10 spokesman said: "This is a particularly heinous case, and the Prime Minister has asked the Home Secretary to consider what can be done to remove this individual from the UK." Prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham added: "Like everyone, I want this vile criminal out of the country. Victims must come first. I will ask the Home and Foreign Secretaries to review all possible options – and they should consider nothing is off the table."
Community Response
Following Ahmed's release, many residents in Rochdale are patrolling the streets to protect the town's children. The case has reignited public anger over the handling of grooming gangs, with protests occurring last year over the lack of action taken.
