UK presses Pakistan to accept deported gang leader
The UK government is negotiating with Islamabad to deport a convicted sex offender, exposing the legal and diplomatic limits of Britain's ability to remove foreign national criminals.
Shabir Ahmed, a ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, was released from prison this week after serving a 22-year sentence for multiple counts of rape. The British government is now in talks with Pakistan to deport him, after victims were told a decades-old law initially blocked his removal.
Ahmed arrived in the UK in the late 1960s and held dual British-Pakistani citizenship. Although his British nationality was stripped following his 2012 conviction, the Immigration Act 1971 prevents the deportation of Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973 and have lived in the UK for five years. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has asked the home secretary to review the case, with officials exploring whether the current Immigration and Asylum Bill can be amended to clear this legislative hurdle.
Even if the law is changed, the government faces a significant diplomatic obstacle. Pakistan has previously refused to accept two of Ahmed's co-ringleaders after they were stripped of their British citizenship in 2018. "We have raised this issue with our counterparts in Islamabad and we are committed to doing everything possible to deport foreign national offenders, and we're clear that they should have no place in this country," a No 10 spokesperson said.
The spokesperson noted that as previous governments found, removal "necessarily involves the agreement of the receiving country - which has not always been possible." This diplomatic friction has prompted calls for tougher leverage, with Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp suggesting the government should consider cutting foreign aid to Pakistan if it refuses. "We expect other countries, like Pakistan, to do the same when the boot is on the other foot," Philp said.
Ahmed's victims have expressed fear over his release, though the Home Office stressed he is being held in 24-hour staffed accommodation with an electronic GPS tag. Any breach of his strict licence conditions will result in immediate recall to prison. Ahmed was one of nine men convicted in 2012 for offences against children, with police estimating as many as 50 victims. A subsequent report found "serious multiple failures" by local police and authorities, who failed to act despite multiple warnings being raised.
