Pakistan rebuffs UK attempt to deport Rochdale gang leader
Pakistan's refusal to accept a released grooming gang ringleader exposes the limitations of UK deportation laws, prompting London to seek rapid legislative changes.
Pakistan has refused to accept the deportation of Shabir Ahmed. The ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang was released from prison this month after serving a 22-year sentence for multiple counts of rape against girls as young as 13.
Ahmed's release has triggered a political crisis because the UK government currently lacks the legal authority to force his removal. Provisions in the Immigration Act 1971 prevent the deportation of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the country before 1973 and have lived there for at least five years. Ahmed moved to the UK in the late 1960s.
The British government hoped to sidestep this by securing Pakistan's agreement to take him. However, Tahir Andrabi, a spokesman for Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rejected the request, stating the government of Pakistan has "no connection whatsoever with this matter."
"The individual concerned is a British national who spent his entire adult life in the UK and was duly convicted by a British court for reprehensible offences committed on British soil," Andrabi said. He added that Ahmed's "heinous crimes demand serious introspection rather than the quest to search for extraneous causes."
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has condemned the legal barrier, arguing the 1971 Act "should not be used as a bar against removal in cases like that of Shabir Ahmed." The government is now proposing an amendment that would remove these historical protections for foreign criminals convicted of serious offences.
The standoff carries implications for the broader business and regulatory environment in the UK. For investors, the episode highlights how outdated legal frameworks can paralyze government policy and create prolonged diplomatic friction. The UK's reliance on a 1971 law demonstrates the legal uncertainties that can arise when domestic criminal justice systems intersect with international migration treaties.
Ahmed, who was stripped of his UK passport following his 2012 conviction, is currently confined to 24-hour staffed accommodation and fitted with a GPS tag. Andy Burnham, who is set to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister next, has called Ahmed a "vile criminal" and backed his deportation. Victims have expressed feeling "frightened" and "unsafe" following his release.
