- Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, is due to be released from prison this week after serving 14 years for multiple rape and sexual offences.
- Ahmed, 73, cannot be deported to Pakistan due to specific provisions in the Immigration Act 1971, which state he arrived in the UK before 1973 and lived there for at least five years before deportation was considered.
- Andy Burnham , a prospective prime minister, has pledged to ask government ministers to "review all possible options" to ensure Ahmed's deportation, emphasising that "nothing is off the table."
- Upon his release, Ahmed will be on the sex offenders register for life and subject to stringent conditions, including curfews, restriction zones, electronic tagging, and prohibitions on contacting victims or children.
- The inability to deport individuals convicted of serious child sex offences has generated considerable public anger and political pressure, prompting a national inquiry into grooming gangs earlier this year.
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