Rochdale grooming gang ringleader cannot be deported, victims told

Provisions in Immigration Act prevent Shabir Ahmed, due to be released, being sent to Pakistan

The ringleader of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang is due to be released from prison this week and cannot be deported from the country, his victims have been told.

Shabir Ahmed, 73, known to his victims as “Daddy”, was convicted of multiple counts of rape and sexual offences against girls in 2012.

Ahmed had dual British-Pakistan citizenship and was stripped of his British citizenship following his conviction, but documents published online, apparently sent by the Probation Service to one of his victims, say he cannot be deported to Pakistan due to provisions in the Immigration Act 1971.

He is prevented from being removed because he arrived in the UK before 1973 and has lived in the country for at least five years before his deportation was considered.

It is understood Ahmed, who is due to be freed from prison on 2 July, will be released on licence, must initially live at accommodation with 24-hour staffing and will be subject to an “exclusion zone” centred on Rochdale.

In 2022, Andy Burnham, who is expected to replace Keir Starmer as the next prime minister, called on the Tory government “to do everything within [its] power to deport grooming gang members”.

Paul Waugh, Labour MP for Rochdale, told the Daily Telegraph that ministers should look at amending the citizenship act if it is necessary to do so to facilitate Ahmed’s removal.

“The people of Rochdale want him booted out of the country,” he said.

Ahmed was one of nine men in the Rochdale grooming gang convicted of offences against five girls as young as 12, who were plied with alcohol and drugs, ferried between flats in taxis, and gang-raped in rooms above takeaway shops.

It is believed that as many as 50 girls could have been victims of the gang.

Ahmed was jailed for 19 years at Liverpool crown court. At his trial, he called the judge a “racist bastard” and took his case to the European court of human rights, claiming he had been unfairly convicted.

Judge Gerald Clifton said victims were treated “as though they were worthless and beyond any respect” because they were not part of the same community or religion.

Greater Manchester police said at the time there was no “racial or cultural” element to the gang’s offending.

A report later found “serious multiple failures” by police and local authorities, who did not act despite multiple concerns being raised.

Two other gang members, Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan were stripped of their British citizenship in 2022. The Home Office has not said whether either have been deported.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “Ahmed’s horrific crimes were at the heart of the grooming gangs scandal that represents one of the darkest moments in our country’s history.

“On his release he will be on the sex offender register for life, ordered to stay away from his victims and banned from contacting any child or young person.

“As well as facing strict curfews and restriction zones, his every movement will be tracked, forced to wear an electronic tag. Should he breach his conditions, he will be immediately locked up.”