Andy Burnham Demands Deportation Of Rochdale Grooming Gang Ringleader Shabir Ahmed

Andy Burnham said he will ask the home and foreign secretaries to "review all possible options" to deport Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, who is due to be released from jail this week.

“- Published Andy Burnham has said he will ask the home and foreign secretaries to "review all possible options" to deport the ringleader of a notorious Rochdale grooming gang”

BBC

Burnham wrote on X: "Like everyone, I want this vile criminal out of the country. Victims must come first."

BBC

The BBC said Ahmed had dual British-Pakistani citizenship and was stripped of his British citizenship following his conviction for multiple counts of rape and sexual offences against girls in 2012.

The BBC also said documents shared online, reportedly from the Probation Service, say Ahmed cannot be deported back to Pakistan because of a law that bars his removal.

Justice Minister Jake Richards told the BBC's Politics Live there were long-standing issues with "our ability to deport foreign national offenders to Pakistan" and said it seems unlikely in this case.

A victim identified only as "Ruby" told the BBC she was "scared for my safety and my kids' safety" ahead of Ahmed's expected release.

Ruby said: "The main ringleader is getting out of prison, who is well known in Rochdale, Oldham and Middleton, so even if he's not in that area, he still knows people and that makes me unsafe."

LBC

The BBC reported that Ruby is being supported by The Maggie Oliver Foundation, set up by Maggie Oliver, an ex-police detective turned whistleblower over grooming gangs.

The Home Office said it was working with other government departments to explore options in the case, while also saying it was committed to doing everything possible to deport FNOs.

The BBC added that Ahmed must initially live in supervised accommodation 24/7 and will be subject to an "exclusion zone" centred on Rochdale.

The BBC said the Immigration Act 1971 bars Ahmed's removal because he arrived in the UK before 1973 and lived in the country for at least five years before his deportation was considered.

“Andy Burnham has said that if he becomes prime minister ‘nothing is off the table’ to deport the leader of the Rochdale grooming gang when he walks free from prison in just hours”

Metro.co.uk

The BBC reported that Ahmed was jailed for 19 years in 2012 at Liverpool Crown Court, one of nine men in the Rochdale grooming gang trial convicted of offences against five girls.

The BBC quoted Judge Gerald Clifton saying victims were treated "as though they were worthless and beyond any respect" because they were not part of the gang's community or religion.

In a separate account, The Telegraph said Ahmed is protected from deportation by a loophole in the Immigration Act of 1971 which exempts Commonwealth citizens like him who arrived in the UK before 1973.

The Telegraph reported that a source said: "Everything is on the table." and that the Home Office is considering closing the loophole.