Who is Shabir Ahmed? Notorious grooming gang ringleader to be deported to Pakistan from…, he is also known as…

Andy Burnham, widely anticipated to succeed Keir Starmer as Britain’s new prime minister towards the end of this month, is leading demands for the deportation of a notorious Rochdale grooming gang ringleader to Pakistan after he was released from prison on Thursday, July 2.

Burnham, the MP for Makerfield, is expected to be elected unopposed later in July after Starmer’s resignation. He recently said that he will “review all options” to remove the grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed, who was convicted in 2012 of multiple charges including rape and sexual offences against young girls.

The scandal, which rocked Rochdale in Greater Manchester, lies within Burnham’s former mayoral jurisdiction and returned to the headlines after it emerged that Ahmed is protected under a 1970s law that blocks his deportation.

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“I want this vile criminal out of the country,” says Andy Burnham

“Like everyone, I want this vile criminal out of the country. Victims must come first,” Burnham said while announcing his intentions regarding the notorious grooming gang.

“I will ask the Home and Foreign Secretaries to review all possible options – and they should consider nothing is off the table,” he added.

Who is Shabir Ahmed?

Ahmed (73), a dual national, was deprived of his British citizenship upon being sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment by a UK court. A Probation Service letter informing victims of his early release, under a prison scheme this week, however, revealed that, under the UK’s Immigration Act 1971, any Commonwealth citizen who arrived in the country before 1973 and had been living here for at least 5 years cannot be deported.

The matter is said to have been further hindered by the fact that there is reluctance on the part of Pakistan to accept the criminal. The convicted rapist, who it emerged during trial was known as “Daddy” by his victims, was the ringleader of a group of nine men who groomed and sexually abused teenage girls. The men’s modus operandi was to gain the trust of their victims by offering takeaway food and cigarettes, later plying them with alcohol before raping them.

Ahmed now being electronically monitored via GPS tag

In response to a parliamentary question on Thursday, Sir Alan Campbell, Leader of the House of Commons, told MPs, “The government is exploring every option in this case.” Ahmed is now being electronically monitored through a GPS tag while staying in monitored accommodation following his release from prison.

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“Ahmed’s horrific crimes were at the heart of the grooming gangs scandal that represents one of the darkest moments in our country’s history,” a 10 Downing Street spokesperson was quoted as saying, Daily Excelsior reported. “He will rightly be on the sex offenders register for life, ordered to stay away from his victims and banned from contacting any child or young person. His every movement will be tracked, and forced to wear an electronic tag,” he added.

The government is reportedly considering whether the 1971 law could be modified via an amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament.

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