Andy Burnham seeks Shabir Ahmed deportation after Rochdale gang leader's release

London,UPDATED: Jul 2, 2026 18:54 IST

Andy Burnham has led calls for the deportation of Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of a grooming gang, after his release from prison in Britain on Thursday. Burnham, widely expected to succeed Keir Starmer as Britain’s new prime minister later this month, said he would seek a review of all possible options to remove Ahmed to Pakistan.

Ahmed, 73, was convicted in 2012 on multiple charges of rape and sexual offences against young girls and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. His case has returned to the spotlight after it emerged that a provision under the UK’s Immigration Act 1971 blocks his deportation despite his British citizenship having been stripped.

The scandal, centred on Rochdale in Greater Manchester, falls within Burnham’s patch as the region’s former mayor. Reacting to Ahmed’s release, Burnham said: “Like everyone, I want this vile criminal out of the country. Victims must come first.” He added: “I will ask the Home and Foreign Secretaries to review all possible options - and they should consider nothing is off the table.”

A Probation Service letter sent to victims said Ahmed had been released early under a prison scheme this week. It said that under the Immigration Act 1971, any Commonwealth citizen who arrived in the UK before 1973 and had lived there for at least five years cannot be deported. The matter has reportedly been made more difficult by reluctance on the part of Pakistan to accept him.

Responding to a parliamentary question on Thursday, Sir Alan Campbell, Leader of the House of Commons, told MPs: “The government is exploring every option in this case.” Ahmed is now living in monitored accommodation and is being electronically tracked through a GPS tag. A 10 Downing Street spokesperson said: “Ahmed’s horrific crimes were at the heart of the grooming gangs scandal that represents one of the darkest moments in our country’s history.” The spokesperson added: “He will rightly be on the sex offenders register for life, ordered to stay away from his victims and banned from contacting any child or young person. His every movement will be tracked, and forced to wear an electronic tag.”

The government is considering whether the 1971 law can be changed through an amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which is currently before Parliament. Meanwhile, Opposition Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp told the BBC he planned to table his own amendment to remove the provisions preventing Ahmed’s deportation.

During the trial, it emerged that Ahmed was known as “Daddy” by his victims. He was the ringleader of a group of nine men who groomed and sexually abused teenage girls by first gaining their trust with takeaway food and cigarettes, then giving them alcohol before raping them. Reports said the British government is also in talks with Pakistan over deporting two other gang members, Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, who were stripped of their British citizenship in 2022, but both men have relied on the European Convention on Human Rights provision on the right to family life to resist removal.

The case has again raised questions over whether Ahmed can be deported, with Burnham, the government and the Opposition all pressing for ways to remove him, while legal and diplomatic hurdles remain.

With PTI Inputs

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