House of Commons (PTI file image) (representational image)
The UK government has begun the process of changing the law that has until now prevented the extradition of convicted luring ringleader Shabbir Ahmed to Pakistan.Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood announced in Parliament on Monday that the government would amend the 1971 Immigration Act to remove legal protections for dangerous criminals like Ahmed.Ahmed, who was imprisoned in 2012 for rape and sexual crimes against young girls, was recently released after serving a prison sentence. His case sparked widespread criticism after it emerged he could not be deported due to a 1971 law protecting some Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973.Ahmed was the leader of a gang of nine men who groomed and sexually assaulted teenage girls. The group reportedly gained the trust of victims by offering them ready-made food and cigarettes before giving them alcohol and sexually assaulting them.Speaking in the House of Commons, Mahmood said she was acting in response to the widely reported case of “vile grooming gang leader Shabbir Ahmed”.“Our amendment will give the Home Secretary new power to repeal Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971 for dangerous criminals,” Mahmoud told MPs.“This provides protection for long-term UK residents, but clearly should not act as a bar against deportation in cases such as that of Shabir Ahmed.
“The threshold for this power will be linked to the power to deprive of nationality, which only applies in cases of exceptional severity,” she said.Mahmoud, whose family is of South Asian descent, admitted that changing the law alone would not guarantee Ahmed’s deportation.According to reports, Pakistan refused to accept Ahmed, and discussions between the two countries reportedly included linking his return to the extradition of Pakistani dissidents living in Britain.“It is important to note that this does not guarantee his removal from this country. It is the opposite [Conservative Party] “They know very well from their own experience,” Mahmoud said in Parliament.“Minister of Foreign Affairs [Yvette Cooper] I continue to work in every way to follow up on the deportation. “I know that the thoughts of everyone here are with the victims and survivors of this vile criminal.”The proposed amendment is part of the wider Immigration and Asylum Bill, which the government says aims to make the asylum system fairer for genuine refugees while speeding up the deportation process for people who are in the country illegally.Ahmed is currently living in monitored housing and is being tracked by GPS after his release from prison.His deportation proposal received support from various political parties.The opposition Conservative Party called for faster action against what it described as “a vile rapist gang that must be deported to Pakistan.”“I would just ask the Home Secretary not to do that by amending this bill, which will probably take a year or so to get to the statute book.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said in Parliament: “I hope you will consider doing this instead through emergency legislation in September, which could be completed within a fortnight.”Other MPs also urged the government to speed up action against what they described as a “vicious and abhorrent” criminal whose abuse of young girls in Oldham and Rochdale has shocked communities across northern England.The truth is: he has already been stripped of his British citizenship.
Oldham MP Jim McMahon said: “He has no right to be here, except for the loophole in the Immigration Act 1971 which will now be closed thanks to the actions of our Home Secretary.”“I know that this is just the beginning, and that even after the law is changed, Pakistan may still say that it will refuse to take this man back. Whatever diplomatic obstacles exist, they must be challenged, and every possible avenue must be explored,” Rochdale MP Paul Waugh demanded.Andy Burnham, who is expected to succeed Keir Starmer as Britain’s next prime minister, also supported Ahmed’s deportation. Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, was among the strongest voices calling for action.He recently said: “Like everyone else, I want this vile criminal out of the country. The victims must come first. I will ask the Home and Foreign Ministers to review all possible options – and they must consider that nothing is off the table.”Ahmed (73 years old) holds British and Pakistani citizenship, and his victims called him “father” during the trial. He was stripped of his British citizenship when he was sentenced to 22 years in prison.However, a letter from the Probation Service informing victims of his release revealed that under the Immigration Act 1971, Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 and have lived there for at least five years cannot be deported.According to reports, the British government is also trying to deport two other convicted gang members, Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, who were stripped of their British citizenship in 2022. The two men have appealed their deportation by relying on the provision of the European Convention on Human Rights that protects the right to family life.Mohamud’s bill also includes measures to tighten the use of such appeals by convicted criminals seeking to prevent their deportation.
