Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of a Rochdale child sex grooming gang, has been forced to relocate from a hostel in Accrington, Lancashire, after his address was leaked on social media, causing fury among local residents.
Convicted Offender Released After 14 Years
Ahmed, 73, was convicted in 2012 of multiple rape and sexual offences against girls as young as 13. He led a nine-strong group and was known to his victims as “Daddy.” After serving 14 years in prison, he was released on July 2. He cannot return to his former home in Oldham and is excluded from parts of Rochdale. He is subject to strict licence conditions, including residing in approved accommodation staffed 24 hours a day.
Local and Political Reaction
Hyndburn MP Sarah Smith confirmed she pressured authorities to move Ahmed. “Since finding out that Shabir Ahmed had been released from prison into Hyndburn, I did everything in my power to get him removed. I can confirm that he has been moved,” she said. “My thanks go to the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, and Lancashire Police for ensuring this outcome. I am disgusted that he was ever here in the first place.” Smith called for a wider exclusion zone so Ahmed is not placed in Lancashire or the North West, and urged his immediate deportation.
Legal Barriers to Deportation
Ahmed has been stripped of his British citizenship, leaving him with only Pakistani citizenship. However, a 1971 law forbids the removal of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago, preventing his deportation. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to amend the Immigration and Asylum Bill to remove this immunity. However, she admitted that even with the law change, deportation would require Pakistan’s cooperation.
Tahir Andrabi, a spokesman for Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated, “The matter in question is entirely an internal matter of the United Kingdom. The individual concerned is a British national who spent his entire adult life in the UK and was duly convicted by a British court for reprehensible offences committed on British soil. Any decision regarding his release, supervision of usual legal status, falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the competent British authorities and must be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom.”
Supervision and Victims' Trauma
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “Public protection is our top priority. This offender is subject to the toughest supervision possible and he will be on the sex offenders register for life. He is also banned from contacting his victims, or any child or young person, and has his movements tracked.” MP Smith expressed concern for the victims, saying, “His release will bring back unimaginable trauma for the women whose lives were changed forever by his sickening crimes. They deserved to know that once he left prison, he would leave this country.”
