Key facts
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood plans to amend the 1971 Immigration Act to facilitate the deportation of Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed.
- Ahmed, 73, was released after serving 14 years of a 22-year sentence for 30 child rape offenses.
- The 1971 Immigration Act prevents deportation for individuals who arrived before 1973 and have resided in the UK for at least five years.
- Pakistan has refused to accept Ahmed back, citing his renunciation of Pakistani citizenship.
- Ahmed has been stripped of his British citizenship.
- The UK disputes Pakistan's claim that Ahmed renounced his citizenship decades ago.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is preparing to introduce changes to the 1971 Immigration Act to enable the deportation of Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang. Ahmed, 73, was recently released after serving 14 years of a 22-year sentence for 30 child rape offenses. However, his deportation is currently blocked by the 1971 Immigration Act, which exempts individuals who arrived in Britain before 1973 and have lived in the UK for at least five years.
Pakistan has so far refused to take Ahmed back, as he has renounced his Pakistani citizenship, and he has also been stripped of his British citizenship. The UK government disputes Pakistan's claim that Ahmed renounced his citizenship decades ago, asserting he did not follow the proper process.
Mahmood is expected to announce that a legal loophole can be closed without affecting the rights of other Commonwealth citizens, including the Windrush generation. This announcement is timed to coincide with the second reading of the immigration and asylum bill. A government source indicated that while a domestic legal solution is anticipated, the final decision on Ahmed's deportation hinges on negotiations with Pakistan.