London: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has requested the home secretary review the case of Shabir Ahmed, a key figure in the Rochdale grooming gang, amid growing calls to change laws to facilitate his deportation.
Ahmed, 73, known among his victims as “Daddy,” was released from prison Thursday after serving 14 years for numerous charges of rape and sexual offenses against young girls. He moved to the UK from Gujarat, India, in the late 1970s when he was 14. He has no valid Pakistani documentation, having renounced his Pakistani nationality decades ago to secure British citizenship.
He is believed to have been released on parole, with conditions requiring him to reside at a 24-hour staffed bail hostel, wear an electronic GPS tracker, and stay away from his former address on Windsor Avenue in Oldham. Furthermore, he’s subject to an “exclusion zone,” preventing him from entering certain areas of Rochdale.
Ahmed’s British citizenship has been revoked, leaving him with no legal status. However, deportation is barred due to a 1971 law that prohibits removing certain Commonwealth citizens who have been in the UK for over 50 years.
Downing Street stated that Prime Minister Starmer asked Shabana Mahmood to explore options for deporting Ahmed, describing his case as “particularly heinous.” The government reaffirmed its commitment: “We are unequivocal that when foreign nationals commit crimes here, we will do everything possible to remove them.”
His impending release has prompted political leaders, including the upcoming likely Prime Minister Andy Burnham, to call for urgent review and action, urging ministers to consider all possible avenues for deportation. Rochdale MP Paul Waugh from the Labour Party also emphasized that the Foreign Office should do everything within their power to facilitate Ahmed’s deportation.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch declared that her party would seek to amend the government’s Immigration and Asylum Bill to close legal loopholes preventing Ahmed’s deportation.
Ahmed was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in 2012 for offenses involving five girls and sentenced to 19 years in prison, one of nine men found guilty in the case.
A senior Pakistani government official told Geo News exclusively that Ahmed is a stateless individual and not a Pakistani citizen. The official explained that Ahmed does not possess UK nationality and had long ago renounced his Pakistani citizenship, thus considering him “an alien” under their view.










