Ringleader's Release Sparks Outrage
Shabir Ahmed, the 72-year-old ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang known as 'Daddy', is scheduled to be released from prison on July 2 after serving 14 years of a 19-year sentence for multiple rape and sexual offences against young girls. Despite being stripped of his British citizenship, Ahmed cannot be deported due to provisions in the Immigration Act 1971, as he arrived in the UK before 1973 and has lived here for at least five years before deportation was considered.
The father of 'Holly', the main prosecution witness in the 2012 trial, has urged the Government to deport Ahmed to his native Pakistan. He told the Manchester Evening News: "He should be deported. What makes people think this man is going to stop? You can't fix someone like him, a paedophile who's attracted to children. That man should not be allowed to stay in Great Britain for what he's done." The father added that he had not been informed of Ahmed's imminent release and expressed certainty that Ahmed would re-offend.
Victims Express Fear and Anger
Another victim, identified as 'Ruby' in the BBC drama Three Girls, expressed fear for her safety and that of her children. In a statement via The Maggie Oliver Foundation, she said: "I'm scared for my safety and my kids' safety. The main ringleader is getting out of prison, who is well known in Rochdale, Oldham and Middleton, so even if he's not in that area, he still knows people and has a chance to talk to people from that area and that makes me unsafe." She added that victims had been given "false promises" and left to "fend for themselves" due to lack of support from authorities, calling for a change in the law to deport grooming gang members.
Billy Howarth, from Parents Against Grooming UK (PAG UK) in Rochdale, relayed a statement from another victim: "The pending/recent release of Shabir Ahmed from prison has had a profound and debilitating impact on my life. I live in a constant state of hypervigilance, fearing for my physical safety every time I leave my home. This fear has caused severe anxiety, disrupted my sleep, and forced me to drastically alter my daily routines, and social life simply to avoid a potential confrontation."
Political Pressure and Legal Constraints
Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig has written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, urging them to deport Ahmed. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester and likely next prime minister, tweeted: "I want this vile criminal out of our country." In 2022, Burnham called on the then-Tory government to do everything within its power to deport grooming gang members.
Ahmed, who holds dual Pakistani-British citizenship, was convicted in 2012 of two counts of rape, one sexual assault, trafficking, and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child. He committed rape and shared victims with other men at sex parties across the north. The gang exploited girls as young as 13 at Tasty Bites and another takeaway in Heywood from 2007.
Release Conditions and Monitoring
Ahmed will be released on licence with strict conditions, including living at a 24-hour staffed accommodation outside Greater Manchester, an exclusion zone centred on Rochdale, and a ban on contacting any child or young person. He will be on the sex offenders register for life, subject to curfews and restriction zones, and forced to wear an electronic tag. A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Should he breach his conditions, he will be immediately locked up."
Ahmed's release has reignited anger over the failure to deport multiple dual-nationality men convicted of serious child sex offences in grooming gangs. A national inquiry into grooming gangs was announced earlier this year amid mounting public pressure.
