Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed could be deported to a third country

By DAVID BARRETT, HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 13:30, 13 July 2026 | Updated: 13:31, 13 July 2026 Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed could be deported to a third country if Pakistan refuses to take him, officials have suggested. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman refused to rule out removing Ahmed to another state – not yet named – if he cannot be deported to Pakistan. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to publish potential changes to the law later on Monday which will be designed to change a 55-year-old law which currently prevent’s Ahmed’s removal. Under the Immigration Act 1971 foreign-born nationals are exempt from deportation if they arrived here before 1973 and have lived in the UK for at least five years. Ahmed, 73, was handed a 22-year sentence in 2012 for multiple rape and sexual offences against young girls. Last week the Conservatives warned the Pakistani-born paedophile will ‘almost certainly’ submit human rights claims to remain in Britain in the face of any new bid to deport him. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said Ahmed was highly likely to lodge – and win – appeals brought under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It would risk rendering futile any efforts by Ms Mahmood to change the immigration laws. Mr Philp said: ‘Even if these legal changes are made, Ahmed will almost certainly file claims under the ECHR. ‘He is likely to use Article 8, the right to private and family life, and Article 3, which prevents someone being removed to somewhere they may face ill-treatment. ‘Previous cases suggest any such claims will have a good chance of success.’ Ahmed has previously used the ECHR in a bid to have his convictions overturned. He lodged a claim on numerous human rights grounds with the European Court of Human Rights in 2014, two years after he was jailed. However, Strasbourg judges declared his claims inadmissible in 2016. It is not yet known whether Ms Mahmood will bring in the reforms as an amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which was laid before Parliament last month, or through a different legal mechanism which may allow swifter changes. Ahmed was freed from jail earlier this month after serving 14 years of his sentence. He has already been stripped of his British citizenship and is reported to have also renounced his Pakistani citizenship. But Pakistan is insisting it will not accept Ahmed, with officials last week describing the British Government’s efforts to send Ahmed back as ‘arrogance and a colonial mindset’. Its unwillingness to comply could lead the British Government to impose penalties on the Commonwealth country, such as reducing or stopping the issuing of UK visas to its nationals. Another option could be withholding the annual £50million in foreign aid currently paid by Britain to Pakistan. The PM’s official spokesman said: ‘The country of origin must agree to take these vile criminals back and that’s why we’re working across government to explore every option in this case.’ Asked if that included the possibility of refusing to issue visas, the spokesman said: ‘I think we’ve been clear that all options remain on the table where countries don’t co-operate on the return of their nationals.’ Labour MP Jim McMahon, who represents a constituency in Oldham where some of the abuse occurred, called for a change in the law earlier this month and said the 1971 legislation ‘was not designed to give a free pass to a child rapist’.