Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has confirmed in parliament her intention to amend the 1971 Immigration Act to enable the deportation of Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang. Ahmed, a British-Pakistani, was jailed for 22 years in 2012 for the rape, abuse and trafficking of over 50 girls. He was released on license after serving just over half his sentence and is now in 24-hour staffed accommodation with a GPS electronic tag.
Mahmood's Proposed Law Change
Mahmood told parliament she will remove protections for Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973, allowing foreign criminals convicted of serious offences to be deported. The move comes amid public fury over Ahmed's release. However, critics argue deportation is a misguided solution.
Why Deportation Is Not the Answer
Pakistan has repeatedly stated it will not accept Ahmed back, making the deportation plan appear symbolic. The author contends that Ahmed should remain in prison for life, not be exiled. "Britain should be able to deal with him, and anyone like him," the article states. "He, and anyone who commits crimes like his, should stay in prison forever."
The Broader Problem
The Rochdale case exposed a wider network: as of October 2025, 61 men had been convicted for sex offences linked to the gang. Sentences ranged from 4 to 12 years, widely seen as too lenient. The author argues that focusing on deportation distracts from failures in the criminal justice system, which allowed the abuse to thrive and imposed insufficient punishments.
Victims' Voices
A mother of a late victim said: "Now, we are being asked to live with the fear that those people who harmed us may come back into the community sooner than we ever thought." Survivors have written to MPs urging an end to early release for sexual offenders.
Conclusion
The author calls for reforming sentencing for sexual crimes rather than immigration law. "If sexual violence was taken more seriously and the punishment matched the crime, we wouldn't be faced with the problem we now do," they write. A No 10 spokeswoman described Ahmed's crimes as "one of the darkest moments in our country's history," but the author insists: "He shouldn't be back on our streets. None of them should."
