Rochdale councillors have unanimously called for the deportation of Shabir Ahmed, the leader of the Rochdale grooming gang who exploited young girls at two takeaways from 2007. Ahmed was jailed in 2012 for 22 years but was released earlier this month after serving 14 years of his sentence.
Current Restrictions and Government Action
Ahmed is currently unable to return to his address in Oldham and is banned from parts of Rochdale. Yesterday, it was revealed he had been located in Accrington but had to be moved after his location was posted on social media. The government has announced plans to change the law to facilitate his removal from the country, but Pakistan is resisting any move to return him there. Ahmed, now 73, has already been stripped of his British citizenship and is left with only Pakistani nationality.
Council Motion and Political Support
At the latest town hall meeting in Rochdale, councillors urged the government to end the legal loophole in the Immigration Act 1971 that prevented deportation of Ahmed and other offenders. The 1971 law currently forbids the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago. A motion, tabled by council leader Neil Emmott, also provided support to all victims of the grooming gang, who have to live with the devastating impacts of the crimes.
Coun Emmott said: “For those survivors of grooming gangs and child sexual exploitation (CSE), every time this comes back into the media it tears a scab off the wound of those victims. Shabir Ahmed was the leader of the grooming gang and sexually exploited those women in our community. He showed no remorse at that trial. Let’s see him deported.”
Cross-Party Agreement
Reform, Workers, Conservatives and Lib Dems all agreed the grooming gang leader should be deported. However, Workers Party's Coun Mohammed Shafiq said all foreign nationals committing heinous crimes should be deported, no matter their race or ethnicity. This statement was repeated amongst councillors across the chamber in Rochdale Town Hall. Coun Shah Wazir simply said: “He is an evil man. We don’t want him in this country.”
