Ringleader of Rochdale grooming gang 'cannot be deported'

Shabir Ahmed, 73, the ringleader of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang, is set to be released from prison this week and cannot be deported, his victims have been told.

Documents from the Probation Service indicate Ahmed will be released Thursday, July 2. Although stripped of his British citizenship following his 2012 conviction, he cannot be deported to Pakistan. Immigration Act 1971 bars his removal since he arrived in the UK before 1973 and had lived there five years.

Upon release, Ahmed will be subject to stringent licence conditions. He must live in supervised accommodation with 24-hour staffing and face an exclusion zone centred on Rochdale. He will be on the sex offenders register for life and banned from contacting any child or young person.

Ahmed was convicted of rape and sexual offences at Liverpool Crown Court in 2012, one of nine men convicted for offences against five girls as young as 12. For two years from early 2008, the girls were plied with alcohol and drugs, gang-raped in rooms above takeaway shops, and ferried in taxis where cash was paid for their abuse. Police believe as many as 50 girls could have been victims.

At trial, Ahmed called the judge a "racist bastard" and took his case to the European Court of Human Rights. Judge Clifton stated victims were "treated as though they were worthless and beyond any respect because they were not part of the gang's community or religion."

Greater Manchester Police said there was no racial or cultural element to the crimes. A report found serious multiple failures by police and local authorities.

In 2022, Andy Burnham called on the government to deport grooming gang members. Paul Waugh, MP for Rochdale, said "The people of Rochdale want him booted out of the country" and suggested amending legislation.