LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered a review of the case of convicted Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed following growing political pressure to change the law and pave the way for his deportation.
Ahmed, 73, who was known to his victims as “Daddy,” was released from prison on Thursday after serving 14 years of a 19-year sentence. He was convicted in 2012 of multiple rape and sexual offences against vulnerable teenage girls as part of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang scandal.
Originally from Gujarat in Pakistan, Ahmed moved to the United Kingdom in the late 1970s at the age of 14. He later renounced his Pakistani nationality to obtain British citizenship and no longer possesses any Pakistani identity documents.
Following his release, Ahmed has been freed on licence under strict conditions. He has been ordered to live initially at a 24-hour staffed bail hostel, wear an electronic GPS monitoring tag, and comply with an exclusion zone that prevents him from entering parts of Rochdale. He is also barred from returning to his previous address on Windsor Avenue in Oldham.
Although Ahmed has since been stripped of his British citizenship, he cannot currently be deported because of protections contained in the Immigration Act 1971.
The legislation prevents the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than five decades ago, effectively leaving Ahmed without legal nationality but also shielded from deportation.
Downing Street described Ahmed's crimes as "particularly heinous" and confirmed that Prime Minister Starmer has instructed the Home Secretary to explore every available legal option to secure his removal from the UK.
"We are absolutely clear that where foreign nationals commit offences in the UK, we will do everything in our power to remove them," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Ahmed's release has triggered widespread political condemnation and renewed calls for legislative reform. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham urged the government to review every possible legal avenue to facilitate his deportation.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Rochdale Labour MP Paul Waugh called on the Foreign Office to use all available powers to ensure Ahmed is removed from Britain.
Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch announced that her party would seek amendments to the government's Immigration and Asylum Bill to close what she described as a legal loophole preventing Ahmed's deportation.
Ahmed was one of nine men convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in 2012 for sexually exploiting and abusing five young girls. He received a 19-year prison sentence for his role in one of Britain's most notorious child sexual exploitation cases.
Separately, a senior Pakistani government official told that Ahmed is not recognised as a Pakistani national. The official said Ahmed voluntarily renounced his Pakistani citizenship many years ago and no longer holds British nationality either.
"As far as we are concerned, he is a stateless individual and not a Pakistani citizen," the official said, adding that Pakistan has no legal obligation to accept him.
