‘Makes my blood boil’ – Fury erupts over grooming gang deportation scandal | Politics | News

Pakistani pedophile Shabir Ahmed was released from prison as calls for his deportation intensified. Ahmed, the ringleader of the maintenance gang, hid in the back of a taxi as he was taken from HMP Leeds to a taxpayer-funded bail hostel. But pressure is mounting on Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood to close a loophole that “undermines public trust” and deport the vile predator.

The pervert is currently protected by the Immigration Act 1971, which exempts Commonwealth citizens who arrived in Britain before 1973 from deportation.

Downing Street said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had asked Ms Mahmood to consider options for Ahmed’s deportation, describing his case as “particularly abhorrent”.

But Reform’s Zia Yusuf said: “It makes my blood boil. You hear government ministers talking about ‘how are we going to do this’, you hear that rhetoric, you hear them calling him names.

“The Conservatives have had 14 years to get us to the position as a country where you can deport people, which makes me, the ringleader of the grooming gangs, very angry.

“If we can’t deport even one foreign national who is the ringleader of the grooming gangs in Rochdale, what hope do we have as a country? Britain is completely, utterly devastated.”

“We’ll be watching this very, very closely. Andy Burnham said he directed this person to do this, he directed this person to do that and everything is on the table.”

“Well, in that case, the Labor Government will have to announce that they are leaving the ECHR. You better be sure, if they tried to deport him, even if they changed the legislation, which of course they could – Parliament is sovereign – there are lawyers rubbing their hands in glee, drooling over the use of Article 8 or any of the other articles.”

Ahmed was held at HMP Leeds after serving the majority of his sentence at Category A HMP Wakefield.

He will be kept under 24-hour surveillance, subject to electronic tagging and banned from entering Oldham, where he lived, or Rochdale, where he committed his crimes.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Ahmed is a vile pedophile who led a Pakistani gang to gang rape young girls.

“He should be sent back to Pakistan and the Government should support the amendment we plan to put on the table, closing the loophole that currently allows him to remain.

“Vile criminals like Ahmet have no place in this country and the sooner he leaves, the better.”

He added: “Any country that refuses to take back its own citizens should have all foreign aid payments immediately suspended and visa sanctions imposed on an increasing scale, so that any country that refuses to take back its own citizens will be unable to issue visas to its citizens wishing to come to the UK.”

Two other key figures in the Rochdale grooming gang, Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, were not deported.

The British citizenships of three people who were convicted on the grounds that they were the ringleaders of a gang that sexually assaulted 47 girls over two years were revoked.

The demons raped girls as young as 12 after selling them alcohol and drugs in rooms above takeaways, and took the girls to different flats in taxis they were paid to use for sex.

Sara Rowbotham, a former council worker whose team collected evidence that led to Ahmed and eight other men being jailed in Rochdale, said she was “horrified” by his release.

He said: “It has been on my mind since I heard that he would not be deported as promised.

“I’m really worried I’ll see him leaving a local bail hostel near my house. “If I feel that way, imagine how the women he harassed feel.

“This man organized some very nasty abuse of young girls. He managed to coerce, manipulate and organize a group of extremely manipulative men and was volatile in court and towards the judge. There is no indication that his views have changed.

“Cutting investment in probation services means monitoring of him and his behavior is likely to be really poor. Who will make sure he, and perhaps others, are not seeking revenge?”

Labor MP Paul Waugh said: “I am pleased that ministers have confirmed in Parliament that every option is being examined.

“But if all available paths lead to the same legal obstacle, then Parliament should change the law.

“I believe the Home Secretary should have stronger powers to deport foreign nationals and former dual nationals convicted of the most serious sexual offences.

“There should be no legal loopholes to detain dangerous criminals in Britain when there is a legal way to remove them.

“Victims of grooming rings have carried the burden of institutional failure for too long. We owe them more than sympathy. We owe them action.

“If this case will undermine public trust and reveal a loophole that goes against basic common sense, then we should close the case.

“If there are faster ways to get him out of the country, we should look into those too.”

Oldham Labor MP Jim McMahon said Ahmed was dangerous, had been refused parole three times and posed an “ongoing risk” to children.

Mr McMahon said: “As his British citizenship has been revoked, he will effectively be unable to take advantage of a loophole in the Immigration Act 1971 intended to protect law-abiding Commonwealth citizens.

“Every means should be used to have him deported after he completes his sentence. If this requires a change in the law, the law should be changed.”

The Home Office said it was considering closing the loophole and “doing everything possible” to deport foreign criminals.

Mr McMahon said: “I don’t believe Pakistan wants to protect this person any more than their relationship with the UK is strong.

“But ultimately it’s about them prioritizing this, about them stepping up and saying ‘I think Britain has a proud history of being welcoming and inclusive’.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “When he was released [Ahmed] He will be placed on the sex offenders register for life, ordered to stay away from his victims and banned from contact with any children or teenagers.

“In addition to facing strict curfews and restriction zones, his every movement will be tracked and he will be forced to wear an electronic tag. If he violates his conditions, he will be locked up immediately.”