Green leader Zack Polanski says Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed should NOT be kicked out of Britain

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:55, 18 July 2026 | Updated: 09:56, 18 July 2026 Zack Polanski has said Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed should not be kicked out of Britain.  Yesterday the Green Party leader said it 'doesn't make sense' to deport Ahmed, 73, who was convicted of multiple counts of rape and sexual offences against girls as young as 13 years old. The monster was released last month after being jailed in 2012 for 22 years for 30 child rape offences, and 19 years for child sex offences and trafficking.  He had dual British-Pakistani citizenship and was stripped of his British citizenship following his conviction.  But the case has sparked a diplomatic row with Pakistan after Ahmed reportedly renounced citizenship of his homeland, which he left in 1967 at the age of 14.  Pakistan has refused to take him back and blamed Britain for his actions, claiming he had been 'spoiled' by his life in the UK - despite Labour signing off a £153million three-year foreign aid package for the country. Discussing the case on Good Morning Britain yesterday, Mr Polanski said: 'I don't think we should be making these (decisions) on a case by case basis. 'I think we need to make sure we have consistency and also make sure we stick to the rule of law.'  Green Party leader Zack Polanski said it 'doesn't make sense' to deport Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed, 73, who was convicted of 30 child rape offences in 2012 Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed was released from prison last month after serving 14 years in jail Ahmed was seen at a bail hostel after leaving prison 15 miles from the scene of his vile crimes When asked about whether he would deport Ahmed, the Green leader said: 'That would require a threat assessment and if he is still significant threat then he shouldn't be out of prison at all... 'He committed those crimes in Britain so it makes sense to me that as a British citizen he stays in a British prison.  'I accept there may be more details I'm not privy to, I'm not the justice minister or in the Home Office.'  Mr Polanski added: 'If he's still a threat, it doesn't make diplomatic sense to me for him to go and be a threat somewhere else.  'It makes sense to me that he is maintained in prison until he's not a threat.'  At the beginning of July, Labour leader and incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that 'nothing is off the table'. He said: 'Like everyone, I want this vile criminal out of the country. Victims must come first.'  Meanwhile Tory and Reform MPs have demanded that Labour cease foreign aid to Pakistan and impose visa sanctions until the country takes Ahmed back.  Ahmed accused the white community of letting down the girls who testified against him and his sex gang during his 2012 trial Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans this week to change a 1971 law which protects certain Commonwealth citizens and had prevented Ahmed's deportation In 2012, Ahmed was given a 19-year sentence for leading a group of eight Pakistani men and one Afghan who abused 47 girls, some of them as young as 13. The offences took place under the nose of the authorities in Rochdale over a period of more than five years.  In a separate trial, the paedophile was convicted by a jury of 30 more rape charges, this time concerning an Asian girl who he abused from the age of three until she was an adult. Ahmed was given another sentence of 22 years, to run concurrently. The court heard he led a gang which plied girls with alcohol and drugs and gang-raped them in rooms over takeaway shops. Ahmed was born in Pakistan and is thought to have come to the UK aged 14. He held dual citizenship but was stripped of the British element by the last government and is thought to have renounced his Pakistani origins.  Ministers were prevented from deporting him due to a 1971 law which protects the rights of certain Commonwealth citizens living here. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans this week to amend the legislation, saying it 'should not be used as a bar against removal in cases like that of Shabir Ahmed'. But officials say he cannot be sent back without the agreement of Pakistan and Downing Street said it was looking at ways to put diplomatic pressure on the country.  A No10 spokesman previously said: 'We are engaging with the Pakistan government at a senior level, doing everything possible to deport him.'