Lawyer details exactly how Labour can 'easily' change legislation to deport Rochdale grooming gang ringleader: 'Embarrassing!'

The Labour Government has been told by a lawyer how they can "easily" change legislation to enforce the deportation of foreign criminals, branding their failure to do so "embarrassing".

Speaking to GB News, James Tumbridge of Keystone Law explained the case of Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed, saying the Government has such a large majority that they can change any legislation "whenever they want".

Ahmed, 73, has walked free from prison early after being handed a 19-year sentence for the rape and sexual abuse of young girls in 2012.

The convicted ringleader has returned to Britain's streets after avoiding deportation due to a legal loophole under the Immigration Act 1971.

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Ahmed is included in an exemption for Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 from removal - despite having his British citizenship revoked.

Discussing the legal framework around the Immigration Act, Mr Tumbridge dismissed host Stephen Dixon's suggestion it is a "nightmare" for the Government to navigate.

He told GB News: "It's really not that difficult. They've got an enormous majority, they can change the law when they want.

"In fact, they could even do something which I doubt they would, create a parliamentary act that just deals with this one particular issue.

"Or they can amend the 1971 legislation. They've got an asylum Immigration Bill going through, we have to remember that Parliament creates our laws. Where you've got an issue with the statute, it can be fixed."

Mr Tumbridge stressed his "main concern" with the Labour Government's seeming unwillingness to act.

He said: "My main concern is that when all the politicians are saying, well, we must do something, we must do something, we'll tell people to do something, well, there's a difference in the language.

"If they wanted to fix it, they would be saying something like 'I have instructed the Government legal department to tell me how to amend the law', but they're not. They say, oh, we're going to do something, which seems to be procrastination."

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Challenging Mr Tumbridge, Stephen highlighted that even if legislation was changed, Pakistan is "still refusing to take him back".

He responded: "Yes, but there are a series of gateways here. The first is we've got to deal with our domestic problem, and it's embarrassing that we don't have an answer to this. It's an easy answer.

"The reason for the protection is understood. As an amendment, focus on making the law that anyone that's sentenced to a particular kind of crime or a certain period that you no longer have that protection to remain is the first step."

Questioned on whether the Government can move to change legislation for one particular case, Mr Tumbridge confirmed it is "completely doable".

He told GB News: "It's not something that Governments often tend to give the time to because they want to pass bigger pieces of legislation with wider remit, but it's completely possible.

"The reality is that Government looks at problems and they come up with solutions, and politicians announce intentions all the time. They then should work it through."

Mr Tumbridge added: "That's what they've got civil servants for, what they've got the Government legal department for parliamentary draftsman team for.

"So yes, you can go to lawyers, we can tell you how to do it. But the decision, the direction has to come from the politicians."

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