Revealed - Freed Rochdale grooming gang leader was refused parole just four years ago as it was not 'safe' to release him

By JAMES TOZER, NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT Published: 17:16, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 17:18, 2 July 2026 The ringleader of the notorious Rochdale child sex grooming gang was considered too dangerous to be released from prison just four years ago, the Daily Mail can reveal. Amid mounting fury across the political spectrum that Shabir Ahmed – who was freed from jail today – cannot be deported to Pakistan, disturbing new detail can now be revealed about the potential risk posed by the 73-year-old. The damning assessment was made by the Parole Board in 2022 when the former taxi driver - who forced his victims to call him 'Daddy’ – made an unsuccessful attempt at being released early. It followed Ahmed punching a fellow inmate in the face for saying ‘terrorists should be eradicated’ and then repeatedly stamped on his head. The shocking outburst at maximum security Wakefield Prison – known as Monster Mansion for housing some of Britain’s most dangerous prisoners – was sparked by a deadly wave of terror attacks which struck Brussels, killing 32 people and injuring more than 300. After threatening to kill James Palmer ‘if you slag off Muslims again’, the convicted paedophile 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 Ahmed’s 2022 parole rejection 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’. Rochdale abuse gang leader Shabir Ahmed, 73, has been released from prison but despite being stripped of British citizenship cannot be deported to Pakistan The other eight members of a Rochdale grooming gang who were convicted in 2012 of a offences including rape, trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children After considering all the evidence, the panel concluded that Ahmed was ‘appropriately located in custody where outstanding levels of risk could be contained or addressed’. It also states that at the time he was preying on young girls, Ahmed had a ‘belief that it was acceptable to sexually abuse underage victims’. The panel did record that his behaviour while behind bars had ‘improved markedly’. His ‘more recent disciplinary record had not caused concern apart from his attack on another prisoner’, it states. But disturbingly it records that as of 2022 he had not yet ‘elected to undertake accredited programmes’ to ‘address his offending behaviour’. Regardless of the refusal of parole, Ahmed remained entitled to automatic release from jail today. Whistleblower Maggie Oliver, who resigned as a detective over failings in how police handled grooming cases in Rochdale, said it was ‘horrific’ that he had been freed despite being too dangerous to release just four years ago. ‘As always, victims have no say in the matter,’ Mrs Oliver – who is supporting one of Ahmed’s victims – told the Mail. Former Greater Manchester Police detective Maggie Oliver quit the force over a lack of action against grooming gangs ‘That’s why I say we urgently need a total overhaul of a system which is broken on every level.’ Shockingly, as revealed by the Daily Mail at the time, the 2022 report also says Ahmed was acting as an ‘equalities representative’ at his jail. At the time, Nazir Afzal, the chief crown prosecutor who was key to bringing the gang to justice, branded Ahmed's prison appointment 'staggering both in its insensitivity and appropriateness'. 'It's like putting the wolf in charge of the sheep,' he said. One of Ahmed's victims also said she was 'appalled and sickened'. At the time the Prison Service said his equalities role did not include safeguarding responsibilities and was ‘intended to improve the behaviour of the prisoner’. Ahmed was part of a nine strong sex-grooming gang from Rochdale who were convicted for targeting 47 girls as young as 13 between 2005 and 2008. The victims were plied with drugs and alcohol and were assaulted and raped by as many as five men. Police launched their first investigation into grooming in Rochdale in 2007 Ahmed attempted to blame his crimes on Western society for allowing young girls to 'parade on the streets'. But he was given a 19-year sentence for conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, two rapes, aiding and abetting rape, sexual assault and sex trafficking. He was later jailed for a further 22 years, to run concurrently, for 30 child rapes against a girl after a separate trial. Ahmed subsequently tried to use human rights laws to claim the all-white jury had been biased and influenced by far-Right groups. But judges in Strasbourg rejected his 'manifestly ill-founded' bid. The European Court of Human Rights also threw out his attempt to argue the case against him had been 'tailored by police to fit anti-Muslim prejudice'. Also in 2022 a damning report revealed how Ahmed - then a Labour Party member - was allowed to keep working as a council welfare officer in his home town of Oldham despite being accused of preying on a young girl. Although Greater Manchester Police received an allegation against him in 2005, it chose not to inform his bosses at Oldham Council. Had this happened, 'it may have potentially avoided the tragic abuse of other children', the report said. The comments below have been moderated in advance. 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