Tuesday, June 30th saw growing public concern that a Pakistani rape gang ringleader is due for release from prison—but cannot legally be deported from the UK.
Shabir Ahmed was convicted for his role in the Rochdale child sexual exploitation scandal and is expected to be released from prison in July 2026 (under strict licence conditions until June 2034).
Whereas Ahmed will be monitored after his release, he cannot be deported because of protections contained within the Immigration Act 1971. According to a Home Office explanation quoted in UK newspapers
he is a Pakistani national who arrived in the United Kingdom before 1973 and had lived in the country for the qualifying period before deportation was considered.
Despite being stripped of British citizenship for his crimes, Ahmed can’t be returned to Pakistan. As online ‘freethinker’ Imtiaz Mahmood posted on X,
Convicted of 30 child rape offences. Stripped of British citizenship. Expected to be released from prison this week. The Home Office says he cannot legally be deported from the UK.
Meanwhile Britain’s shameful so-called grooming gangs scandal rumbles on.
