Burnham Seeks Deportation of 19-Year Rochdale Gang Ringleader Ahead of Release
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 1
Burnham Seeks Deportation of 19-Year Rochdale Gang Ringleader Ahead of Release
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 1
Summary
Shabir Ahmed is due out of prison this week, prompting Andy Burnham to press home and foreign secretaries to review every option to remove him from Britain.
Pakistan is the main obstacle: documents shared online say the 1971 Immigration Act bars Ahmed's deportation because he arrived before 1973 and lived in the UK for at least five years.
The Home Office said it is working across government on possible routes, while a justice minister said deportation to Pakistan appears unlikely and any legal change would be hard to apply retrospectively.
Victims say they fear for their safety on Ahmed's release; officials say he will face strict licence terms, including 24/7 supervised accommodation and an exclusion zone around Rochdale.
Ahmed was jailed for 19 years in 2012 as one of nine men convicted in the Rochdale grooming gang case, which involved five girls in court and as many as 50 suspected victims.