Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed can't be deported after release from prison this week

The ring leader of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang is set to be released from prison this week and cannot be deported, his victims have been told.

Shabir Ahmed, 73, had dual British-Pakistani citizenship and was stripped of his British citizenship after his 2012 conviction for multiple counts of rape and sexual offences against girls.

But documents published online, apparently sent from the Probation Service to one of his victims, state the 73-year-old will be released on 2 July and cannot be deported back to Pakistan due to a 55-year-old law that bars his removal.

Under provisions in the Immigration Act 1971, those who arrived in the UK before 1973 and lived in the UK for at least five years before their deportation was considered cannot be removed from the country, which is the case for Ahmed.

In 2022, Andy Burnham, who is likely to replace Sir Keir Starmer as the next prime minister, called on the then-Tory government "to do everything within [...] the government's power" to deport grooming gang members.

It is understood Ahmed will be released on licence, that he must initially live at an accommodation staffed 24 hours a day and is subject to an "exclusion zone" centred on Rochdale.

Paul Waugh, MP for Rochdale, said: "Shabir Ahmed raped and sexually assaulted white girls as the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, and repeatedly raped a young Asian girl too. Yet during his trials he showed no remorse for his appalling crimes, instead falsely accusing one judge of being 'racist'.

"The vile paedophile had joint UK-Pakistani citizenship. He should be deported to Pakistan and not allowed anywhere near those he so wickedly abused.

"I and my fellow MP Jim McMahon held an urgent meeting with Justice Minister Jake Richards today to press for the closure of the loophole in the 1971 Immigration Act that prevents the deportation of men like Ahmed. We are also raising this with the home secretary.

"Most immediately, we also urged the minister to make sure that the conditions of his release will mean he is excluded from both the borough of Rochdale and the borough of Oldham."

Between early 2008 and 2010, girls as young as 12 were plied with alcohol and drugs, gang-raped in rooms above takeaway shops and ferried to different flats in taxis where cash was paid to use the girls for sex.

Nine men in the Rochdale grooming gang trial, which included Ahmed, were convicted of offences against five girls.

Police said the victims were from "chaotic", "council estate" backgrounds and as many as 50 girls could have been victims of the gang.

Judge Gerald Clifton said victims were treated "as though they were worthless and beyond any respect" because they were not part of the gang's community or religion.

Ahmed took case to European Court of Human Rights

Ahmed, who was jailed for 19 years at Liverpool Crown Court in 2012, called the judge a "racist bastard" and took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming he did not get a fair trial, which the court rejected.

Greater Manchester Police said at the time that there was no "racial or cultural" element to the crimes.

A report later found "serious multiple failures" by police and local authorities, saying that police did not act despite multiple concerns being raised.

Two other gang members, Qari Abul Rauf and Adil Khan, launched a similar legal battle. They were both stripped of their British citizenship in 2022, 10 years after their convictions, after taking their case all the way to the Court of Appeal.

Both invoked their human rights under article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to a private and family life, to avoid deportation. They lost their case in 2022, but the Home Office has not said if either of them has been deported.

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A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: "Our thoughts are first and foremost with the victims of these appalling crimes.

"Ahmed's horrific crimes were at the heart of the grooming gangs scandal that represents one of the darkest moments in our country's history.

"The most vulnerable people were abused and exploited at the hands of evil child rapists, and must face the full force of the law.

"On his release he will be on the sex offenders' register for life, ordered to stay away from his victims and banned from contacting any child or young person.

"As well as facing strict curfews and restriction zones, his every movement will be tracked, forced to wear an electronic tag. Should he breach his conditions, he will be immediately locked up."

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