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Andy Burnham has announced his intention to urge the home and foreign secretaries to thoroughly reconsider all potential avenues for deporting Shabir Ahmed, the leading figure of a well-known grooming gang from Rochdale. Ahmed is scheduled to be released from prison this week after being convicted in 2012 on numerous charges of rape and sexual offenses involving young girls. Although he held dual British-Pakistani citizenship, Ahmed had his British citizenship revoked following his conviction.
The Home Office has confirmed that it is collaborating with various government departments to evaluate the possible options concerning Ahmed’s removal from the UK. Burnham, who is anticipated to take over as prime minister later this month, has expressed a strong desire to see Ahmed deported. However, online documents reportedly originating from the Probation Service indicate that deportation to Pakistan is prohibited due to legal restrictions under the Immigration Act 1971. These restrictions prevent Ahmed’s removal because he entered the UK before 1973 and lived here for over five years prior to any deportation consideration.
Concerns have been raised from Ahmed’s victims regarding their safety following his impending release. Speaking on social media platform X, Burnham stated: “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.” Meanwhile, the Home Office reiterated its commitment, saying, “We are committed to doing everything possible to deport FNOs [foreign national offenders] and are clear they should have no place in this country,” while noting that deportations require cooperation from the receiving nation, which has often been lacking.
Justice Minister Jake Richards acknowledged longstanding difficulties in deporting foreign offenders to Pakistan during an appearance on BBC’s Politics Live. He remarked, “We need to try and work on that and see whether it’s possible, but in this case, it seems unlikely.” When questioned about changing the law to permit Ahmed’s deportation, Richards said, “I think it’s very difficult to change the law to look retrospectively,” but added, “I am absolutely looking at this individual and if he is to be released from prison, looking at what we are doing to ensure, firstly, to look after his victims and keeping the community safe.” One victim, identified only as “Ruby,” who is supported by the Maggie Oliver Foundation, expressed her fears: “I’m scared for my safety and my kids’ safety. 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 has a chance to talk to people from that area and that makes me unsafe.”
Maggie Oliver, a former police detective and founder of the foundation supporting victims, told BBC Newsnight that Ruby is “quite rightly scared, but feels that she is once again an afterthought.” The Home Office previously categorized Ahmed’s offenses as “appalling” and insisted that he will be subject to strict licence conditions following his release. These include residing in supervised accommodation 24/7 and adherence to an imposed exclusion zone centered on Rochdale. The legal impediment to his deportation rests on the Immigration Act 1971, which bars the removal of individuals such as Ahmed who arrived before 1973 and had lived in the UK for an extended period prior to deportation attempts.
Ahmed received a 19-year sentence in 2012 at Liverpool Crown Court, being one of nine men convicted in the Rochdale grooming gang trial for crimes against five girls. Police have suggested that as many as 50 girls may have been victimized, many coming from unstable or council estate environments. Judge Gerald Clifton remarked during sentencing that the victims suffered “as though they were worthless and beyond any respect” because they did not share the gang members’ community or religion. Greater Manchester Police stated at the time that there was no racial or cultural motive behind the offenses. A subsequent report concluded that despite numerous warnings and concerns, police had failed to act, pointing to “serious multiple failures” by law enforcement and local authorities
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