Mahmood issues plan to close loophole blocking deportation of Rochdale grooming gang leader
Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood has drafted legislation that could pave the way for the deportation of the Rochdale grooming ring leader; The government also plans to threaten Pakistan if it does not take back the criminal.
Ms Mahmood announced she would amend the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which was read for a second time in the House of Commons on Monday night, to remove immunity under the Immigration Act 1971, which would prevent Shabir Ahmed from being deported.
But he admitted in the House of Commons that despite the potential law change, he could not deport him unless Islamabad agreed to do so. So, also on Monday, the government stated that it could be threatened with visa restrictions if Pakistan did not take him back.
News of Ahmed’s release from prison was met with public outcry after it was revealed earlier this month that the government could not deport him due to a legal loophole. Ahmed was released on July 2, 14 years after his 2012 conviction for rape and sexual offenses against girls, some as young as 12.
He was sentenced to 19 years in prison, but the Immigration Act 1971 prevented him from being sent back to Pakistan. The 1971 law prohibits the deportation of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago.
Ms Mahmood told the House of Commons on Monday: “On the deportation of foreign criminals, the government intends to introduce an amendment to this bill in response to the widely reported case of vile grooming ring leader Shabir Ahmed.
“Our amendment will give the home secretary new power not to invoke Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971 for serious offenders. This provides protection for long-term UK residents, but should not clearly be a bar to removal in cases such as Shabir Ahmed’s.”
“The threshold of this power will depend on the denationalization power, which applies only in cases of exceptional seriousness. It is important to note that this does not guarantee his removal from this country, opponents know this very well from their own experience.”
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs and I will continue to use every means to carry out the deportation.”
Changes to be made in the bill will come later in the committee and report stages.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said he supported Conservative efforts to remove Ahmed by changing the law. But he called on the government to consider emergency legislation rather than waiting for the 75-page Immigration and Asylum Bill to be adopted.
“There is not a moment to lose and this situation can be rectified fairly quickly,” he added.
On Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesman acknowledged that changing the law was only the first step towards deporting Ahmed.
The spokesman said: “The country of origin must agree to take back these vile criminals and that is why we are working across government to explore every option in this case.”
Asked whether this included the possibility of refusing to issue visas, the spokesman said: “I think we are clear that all options remain on the table if countries do not cooperate on the return of their citizens.”
Victims minister Catherine Atkinson told BBC Radio 4: Today A program where the threat of visa restrictions has yielded results before.
He said the home minister was “absolutely clear that this government will take action to remove Shabir Ahmed, and we have seen the success it has had with dismissals in previous cases.”
“I think he threatened visa penalties for Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo if they didn’t take back illegal immigrants,” he said.
“And after four months, all three started collaborating.”
However, Pakistan is not expected to accept Ahmed. In order to do this, the country is reportedly requesting the extradition of two political opponents from the UK.
