UK weighs deporting Rochdale convict

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has instructed the Home Secretary to examine legal options for deporting Shabir Ahmed,

LONDON: British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has instructed the Home Secretary to examine legal options for deporting Shabir Ahmed, a convicted Rochdale grooming gang ringleader, following renewed public and political calls for changes to immigration laws that currently prevent his removal from the United Kingdom.

Ahmed, 73, who was known to some of his victims as “Daddy”, was released from prison on Thursday after serving 14 years of a 19-year sentence imposed in 2012. He was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court of multiple rape and sexual offences involving young girls as part of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang case, in which nine men were found guilty of abusing five victims.

Ahmed arrived in the UK from Gujarat, Pakistan, in the late 1970s at the age of 14. Over the years, he obtained British citizenship after renouncing his Pakistani nationality. He no longer possesses Pakistani identity documents, and his British citizenship has since been revoked, leaving him effectively stateless.

Following his release, Ahmed has been placed on licence with strict conditions. He is required to live initially at a 24-hour supervised bail hostel, wear an electronic GPS tracking device, and comply with an exclusion order that bars him from entering parts of Rochdale. He has also been prohibited from returning to his previous address in Oldham.

Despite losing his British citizenship, Ahmed cannot currently be deported because of protections contained in immigration legislation dating back to 1971. The law prevents the removal of a limited category of Commonwealth citizens who settled in Britain more than five decades ago, creating a legal barrier to his deportation despite his citizenship status.

A spokesperson for Downing Street said Prime Minister Starmer had asked Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to review the case and explore every available legal avenue to remove Ahmed from the country. The government described his crimes as “particularly heinous” and reiterated its position that foreign nationals who commit serious offences should be deported whenever legally possible.

Ahmed’s release has prompted widespread criticism from politicians across the political spectrum. Rochdale Labour MP Paul Waugh urged the government to use every legal mechanism available to facilitate Ahmed’s removal, while Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham called for ministers to urgently examine all possible deportation options.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also pledged to seek amendments to the government’s Immigration and Asylum Bill, arguing that existing legal protections amount to a loophole that should be closed to enable Ahmed’s immediate deportation.

Meanwhile, 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 any legal status in Pakistan.

“As far as we are concerned, he is an alien,” the official said, adding that Pakistan has no legal obligation to accept him because he is neither a Pakistani citizen nor in possession of valid Pakistani nationality documents.

The case has reignited debate in the UK over deportation laws, citizenship rules, and whether existing legislation should be amended to allow the removal of stateless individuals convicted of the country’s most serious crimes.