Grooming gang ringleader deemed too dangerous to be released from jail four years ago

The leader of a Rochdale grooming gang ring was considered too dangerous to be released from prison just four years ago.

GB News understands Shabir Ahmed, 73, was released from prison on Thursday, after serving 14 years since his conviction in 2012 for multiple rape and sexual offences against young girls.

His release has caused uproar due to the fact he is unable to be deported back to Pakistan due to a 1971 law that forbids the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago.

Now, it can be revealed Ahmed made an unsuccessful attempt at being released early in 2022.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

The former taxi driver was denied parole by a board at maximum security Wakefield Prison, reports the Daily Mail.

It followed Ahmed punching a fellow inmate in the face for saying "terrorists should be eradicated" and then repeatedly stamped on his head.

The altercation was sparked by a deadly wave of terror attacks in Brussels in March 2016, killing 32 people and injuring more than 300.

After threatening to kill convicted paedophile James Palmer by shouting "if you slag off Muslims again", he attacked the 71-year-old, sending his false teeth flying, a court later heard.

Ahmed was convicted of causing actual bodily harm over the 2016 prison attack and given an extra 12-month sentence, to run concurrently.

A summary of the parole rejection from 2022 reveals that his probation officer "advised that release to the community at this stage could not be safe as Mr Ahmed had not sufficiently reduced his risks".

While the panel recorded his behaviour had "improved markedly", he had not "elected to undertake accredited programmes" to "address his offending behaviour".

Despite the decision to refuse his parole, Ahmed remained entitled to automatic release from jail today.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Kemi Badenoch demands Labour to ‘get behind’ calls to deport grooming gang ringleader released from jail
• 'What hope do we have!?' Zia Yusuf despairs over failure to deport ringleader of Rochdale grooming gang
• Rochdale rape gang ringleader cannot be deported due to loophole as 'depraved paedophile' set for prison release

Ahmed is understood to have been freed on licence and told he must initially live at a bail hostel which is staffed 24 hours and wear an electronic GPS tag.

He will not be allowed to his last known address on Windsor Avenue in Oldham and is subject to an "exclusion zone" meaning he cannot go to undisclosed parts of Rochdale.

Ahmed has been stripped of his British citizenship, leaving him with only Pakistani nationality.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister had asked Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to consider options for ensuring Ahmed’s deportation, describing his case as "particularly heinous".

Ahmed’s impending release brought calls for action from politicians, including the likely next prime minister Andy Burnham – who called for senior ministers to "review all possible options" for his deportation.

In the Commons, Rochdale Labour MP Paul Waugh called for Ahmed to be deported, saying the Foreign Office “should do everything possible within their power” to make sure that happens.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said her party would attempt to amend the Government’s Immigration and Asylum Bill “to close the loophole so that this man can be deported immediately”.

Victims have shared their fears about Ahmed’s release.

One said she was “absolutely furious” officials did not tell her he was going to be released, adding: “I had to find out about it from the media, in the week of his release.”

The woman, known as Amber, said she has been unable to sleep and felt "physically sick" at the news and fears for the safety of her children.

She said: "He has contacts in Rochdale. They operated as a gang, so even if he stays out of Rochdale, he could still get other men to do what he wants."

In a statement released on her behalf by the Centre for Women’s Justice, she said she felt like she had been "let down all over again" after police previously apologised for treating her as a perpetrator rather than a victim and there was "still zero victim support".

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter