Mahmood to set out plan to deport grooming gang leader

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to outline the legal measures she intends to pursue to deport the former leader of the Rochdale grooming gang. Shabir Ahmed, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2012 for multiple counts of child sexual offences including rape, was released on licence earlier this month. Calls have emerged across the political spectrum for his deportation after he was stripped of his British citizenship following his conviction, leaving him with only Pakistani nationality. However, removal is blocked by a provision in the 1971 Immigration Act that prohibits the deportation of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the United Kingdom more than 50 years ago. It remains unclear how Mahmood will amend the legislation, and Pakistani officials appear unwilling to accept Ahmed, who says he has renounced his Pakistani citizenship. Ahmed was one of nine men from Rochdale and Oldham found guilty of exploiting girls as young as 13 at two takeaway restaurants. After leaving prison he was placed in 24‑hour staffed accommodation and fitted with a GPS‑monitored electronic tag. Authorities have stated that while he remains in the UK he will be returned to prison if he breaches any of the strict licence conditions attached to his release. Several of his victims described feeling “frightened” and said they felt “unsafe” after his release. At the time of his release victims were told he could not be deported to Pakistan because of the 55‑year‑old Immigration Act, which bars the removal of any Commonwealth national who arrived in the UK before 1973 and had resided in the country for five years. Although Ahmed’s British citizenship was stripped when he was jailed, he is still exempt from deportation under the existing rule. Mahmood will set out the legal steps she plans to take to address the situation. A government source previously indicated that changing the law could take as long as a year, though no exact timeline has been confirmed. The Conservative Party is urging the introduction of emergency powers or an amendment to the current migration bill progressing through Parliament, arguing that revising the 1971 Act would take too long. On Thursday a spokesperson for Sir Keir told reporters, “we are exploring every available option in this case, and that includes talking to the Pakistani authorities.” The anticipated announcement from Mahmood comes less than a week after a call from grooming‑gang survivors urging that offenders be excluded from future release.