Rochdale Grooming Gang Ringleader Released, Can't Be Deported
A 55-year-old immigration law was written to protect the Windrush generation from wrongful deportation. Now it's the reason a convicted child rapist cannot be removed from Britain.
Shabir Ahmed, ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, left prison this week. He had served 14 years of a 19-year sentence.
Ahmed was stripped of his British citizenship after conviction. He still cannot be deported to Pakistan, because of an exemption written into the Immigration Act 1971.
What the Law Actually Says
The exemption sits in Section 7 of the 1971 Act. It bars deportation for Commonwealth citizens who were ordinarily resident in the UK before January 1973 and had lived here for at least five years.
It was designed to protect long-settled Commonwealth migrants, including the Windrush generation, from being wrongly removed from a country many considered home.
Ahmed arrived in the UK in the late 1960s. He holds dual British and Pakistani citizenship, meeting the exemption's residency threshold decades before his crimes.
The Home Office noted the same provision "protected many individuals caught up in the Windrush crisis." That scandal saw dozens of legally settled Commonwealth citizens wrongly detained or deported starting in the 2010s. It ultimately forced the resignation of a home secretary in 2018.
📰 Read Also: 520 Mothers, Babies Harmed in NHS Maternity Scandal
The Original Crimes
Ahmed, known to his victims as "Daddy," was convicted in 2012 at Liverpool Crown Court. He was one of nine men found guilty of grooming and sexually abusing girls as young as 12 in Rochdale and Oldham between 2008 and 2010.
Victims were plied with alcohol and drugs, then raped in flats above takeaway restaurants. Police estimate as many as 50 girls may have been targeted.
Sentencing judge Gerald Clifton said the victims were treated "as though they were worthless and beyond any respect," because they didn't share the gang's community or religion.
Ahmed worked as a taxi driver. He was also employed by Oldham Council as a benefits rights worker.
He called the judge a "racist bastard" during his trial. He later took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, unsuccessfully claiming he hadn't received a fair trial.
A subsequent report found "serious multiple failures" by police and local authorities. They had ignored repeated warnings before the men were caught.
📰 Read Also: Man Died Two Days After Prison Release — Staff Saw Warning Signs Hours Before
What Happens Now
Ahmed, now 73, has left custody. He is living in 24-hour staffed accommodation outside the Rochdale area, wearing a GPS electronic monitoring tag under strict licence conditions.
The Home Office said any breach would result in his immediate return to prison. He will remain on the sex offenders register for life, barred from contacting his victims or any child or young person.
A No. 10 spokeswoman called Ahmed's crimes "one of the darkest moments in our country's history." She stopped short of committing to legislative change. Downing Street has said it currently has no plans to amend the 1971 Act.
Political Pressure Building Fast
Andy Burnham is expected to become prime minister in the coming weeks. He said on social media he wants Ahmed "out of the country," and would ask the home and foreign secretaries to review every option, adding that "nothing is off the table."
Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said he plans to lay his own amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill currently before Parliament. The goal is to remove the provisions shielding Ahmed from removal.
Rochdale MP Paul Waugh raised the case directly in the Commons. Leader of the House Sir Alan Campbell said officials were "exploring every option."
Oldham MP Jim McMahon's constituency includes some of the abuse locations. He argued the 1971 protections were never meant to shield offenders like Ahmed. "It was not designed to give a free pass to a child rapist," he said. "We need to anchor it in what the law was intended to do and not the way it has been abused today."
Government lawyers are now examining whether any legislative fix could be applied retrospectively to Ahmed's specific case.
📰 Read Also: House Passes Major Housing Bill, Sends It to Trump's Desk
The Victims' Response
One survivor, identified only as "Ruby," is supported by the Maggie Oliver Foundation. It was set up by a former police detective turned grooming-gang whistleblower.
She said she is "scared for my safety and my kids' safety." Ahmed remains well known across Rochdale, Oldham, and Middleton, she noted, even if he doesn't return to the area directly.
Another victim spoke through the group Parents Against Grooming UK. She described living in "a constant state of hypervigilance" since learning of the release, saying the anticipation had already disrupted her sleep and daily routine.
TL;DR
- Shabir Ahmed, ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, was released after 14 years of a 19-year sentence
- He cannot be deported to Pakistan due to a Section 7 exemption in the Immigration Act 1971
- That exemption was designed to protect Windrush-generation Commonwealth citizens from wrongful deportation
- Andy Burnham and Conservative MPs are both pushing for the law to change, potentially retrospectively
- Ahmed is under GPS monitoring, 24-hour staffed accommodation, and lifelong sex offenders register conditions
Read More
You might also like
World News Correspondent
Rachel Hayes reports on international affairs, geopolitics, and breaking world news. Based in London, she covers stories shaping the UK and global political landscape.
