Shabir Ahmed, the 73-year-old ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, has been released from prison after serving only 12 years of a 22-year sentence for multiple rape and child sexual offences. He cannot be deported to his native Pakistan because he arrived in the UK before 1971, when Pakistan was part of the Commonwealth, and has lived in Britain long enough to qualify for an exemption. Nick Ferrari, writing for the Daily Express, calls this 'the final insult from the lawyers in power' and says it is 'indefensible drivel'.
Victims Left Without Support
One of Ahmed's victims, Ruby, who was raped over 100 times from the age of 12, told the BBC: 'There has been no support for the victims of abuse. There is no team of people in place – despite the Government saying there would be. I am scared for my safety and my children’s safety.' Ferrari questions why victims are being ignored and how Ahmed was allowed early release despite the severity of his crimes. He notes that a 22-year sentence in 2012 should have kept Ahmed in prison until at least 2034.
Government Inaction Condemned
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who is also tipped as a future prime minister, challenged the Conservative government 'to do everything possible' to deport similar sex offenders. Last week he posted on social media that he expects the Home and Foreign Secretaries to 'review all possible options, and they should consider nothing is off the table.' However, Ferrari criticises the current Labour government, packed with lawyers, for being 'seemingly unable to change the law… unless it’s to allow the pubs to stay open.'
Queen Camilla and JK Rowling Meeting
In a separate opinion piece, Ferrari praises Queen Camilla for posing with JK Rowling at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh to discuss 'young children’s access to books.' He defends Rowling's 'admirable determination to stick to her views that women’s changing rooms should be safe spaces and women’s sport should be the preserve of women,' and says critics who call the Queen 'deplorable' and 'tone deaf' are 'venal and self-obsessed.'
Other Rants: Numeracy Test Dropped, Defence Spending, England Match
Ferrari also criticises the Treasury for dropping its numeracy test to hire more diverse graduates, replacing it with a 'Civil Service Strengths Test' that asks graduates if they agree with statements such as 'I prefer not to have to concentrate on one thing for too long.' He calls this 'ideological claptrap.' He mocks Andy Burnham for saying Manchester is 'the north,' asking what that makes Cumbria, Yorkshire, Tyneside, Teesside, the Lake District, or Durham. He describes Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves' boost in defence spending as 'not fully costed and vague on much detail,' attracting 'almost universal condemnation from a battalion of former military top brass.' Finally, he jokes about bleary eyes for England's Monday morning match, hoping for a 'hand of God' moment on England's side.
