UK moves to close 1971 loophole blocking Shabir Ahmed's deportation

London,UPDATED: Jul 14, 2026 15:28 IST

Shabana Mahmood has moved an amendment in the UK Parliament to remove a legal barrier that is blocking the deportation of Shabir Ahmed, a convicted grooming gang ringleader, to Pakistan. Ahmed, who was jailed in 2012 on multiple charges of rape and sexual offences against young girls and has recently been released, is currently protected by a 1971 law that bars the removal of some Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago.

Mahmood told the House of Commons on Monday that the change would give the Home Secretary a new power to disapply Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971 for serious criminals. She said the measure would not guarantee Ahmed's removal, but added that efforts to deport him were continuing, with cross-party backing for action against him.

Ahmed was the ringleader of a group of nine men who groomed and sexually abused teenage girls. The men gained the trust of their victims by offering takeaway food and cigarettes, then gave them alcohol before raping them. During the trial, it emerged that Ahmed, now 73 and a dual national, was known as "Daddy" by his victims.

Announcing the proposal, Mahmood told MPs she was acting in response to the widely reported case of the "vile grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed". "Our amendment will provide the Home Secretary with a new power to disapply Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971 for serious criminals," she said. "This provides protections for long-term UK residents but, clearly, should not be acting as a bar against removal in cases like that of Shabir Ahmed. "The threshold for this power would be tied to the power to deprive citizenship, which applies only in cases of exceptional severity," she said.

Mahmood said the proposed legal change would not by itself ensure that Ahmed is deported. According to reports, Pakistan has declined to accept him, and back-channel negotiations have allegedly focused on linking his return to the extradition of so-called Pakistani dissidents based in Britain. "It is important to note this does not guarantee his removal from this country. As those opposite know all too well from their own experience," she said in Parliament. "The Foreign Secretary and I continue to work all avenues to pursue a deportation. I know the thoughts of everyone here are with the victims and survivors of this vile criminal," she said.

Her statement came as part of wider measures under the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which she said would make the system fairer for genuine refugees and speed up the removal of those who enter illegally. Ahmed, who was stripped of his British citizenship when he was sentenced to 22 years in prison, is now being electronically tracked through a GPS tag while living in monitored accommodation after his release.

The proposal has drawn support across parties. The Opposition Conservatives have called for faster action against the "vile gang rapist who should be deported back to Pakistan". Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told the Commons: "I would only ask the Home Secretary not to do that by amending this Bill, which will probably take a year or so to reach the statute book. I hope that she will consider doing it instead through emergency legislation in September, which could be completed in a couple of weeks." Other MPs also pressed for similar fast-track action against what they called an "evil and abhorrent" criminal whose abuse and exploitation of young girls in Oldham and Rochdale shook the towns.

Oldham MP Jim McMahon said: "The fact is this: he has already been stripped of his British citizenship. He has no right to be here, bar the loophole in the Immigration Act 1971 that will now be closed thanks to the actions of our Home Secretary." Rochdale MP Paul Waugh said: "I know that this is just the start, and that even once the law is changed, Pakistan may still say that it will refuse to take back this man. Whatever diplomatic barriers exist must be challenged, and every possible avenue must be explored." Andy Burnham, who has also been leading calls for Ahmed's deportation, said recently: "Like everyone, I want this vile criminal out of the country. Victims must come first. 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 informing victims of Ahmed's release 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 could not be deported. Reports said the British government also remains in talks with Pakistan over the deportation of two other gang members, Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, who were stripped of British citizenship in 2022 and have used the European Convention on Human Rights provision on family life to fight removal. Mahmood's bill also includes measures to tighten this appeals route used by convicted criminals to obstruct deportation.

The proposed amendment is aimed at closing the legal loophole that has protected Ahmed from removal, even after he was stripped of his British citizenship and released from prison. Ministers have said the change is part of a wider immigration package, while also making clear that any deportation would still depend on securing Pakistan's cooperation.

With PTI Inputs

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