Government officials are in talks with Pakistan about taking back Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed, Downing Street has said. Ahmed, 73, who has been stripped of his British citizenship leaving him with only Pakistani nationality, cannot be deported due to a 1971 law that forbids the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago. Reports have also suggested Pakistan might not accept Ahmed because he had previously renounced his citizenship.
Victims Urge Action
The government comes after victims and the father of the central prosecution witness in the 2012 trial urged officials to find a way to deport Ahmed. Asked about the Government's progress on the case, a No 10 spokeswoman said: "We have raised this issue with our counterparts in Islamabad and we are committed to doing everything possible to deport foreign national offenders, and we're clear that they should have no place in this country."
Government's Stance
She continued: "We're absolutely clear that where foreign nationals commit offences in the UK we will do everything in our power to remove them, and that is why in this particular awful case, the Prime Minister has asked the Home Secretary to consider what can be done to remove this individual from the UK. This is clearly a complex case with implications beyond this specific incident."
Ahmed's Release and Conditions
Ahmed, known to his victims as 'Daddy', was released from prison on Thursday after serving 14 years since his conviction in 2012 for multiple rape and sexual offences against young girls. He has been freed on licence and told he must initially live at a bail hostel which is staffed 24 hours and wear an electronic GPS tag. He has been located outside Greater Manchester and is subject to an exclusion zone which forbids him from returning to parts of Rochdale where his victims live. He will not be allowed at his last known address on Windsor Avenue in Oldham. Ahmed was sentenced to 19 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court in 2012 as one of nine men convicted of offences against five girls.
Political Reactions
The Conservatives have said they will attempt to amend the Government's Immigration and Asylum Bill 'to close the loophole', with leader Kemi Badenoch urging ministers to back them. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the Government should consider cutting foreign aid to Pakistan if it refuses to take Ahmed back. He told GB News: "If a British citizen commits a criminal offence somewhere else or is in another country illegally, of course, we take back our own citizens. So we expect other countries, like Pakistan, to do the same when the boot is on the other foot. If they don't do that, we should be cutting all foreign aid to those countries that don't accept back their own citizens, and we should be imposing what I call visa sanctions."
