Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is pushing to change the law to deport Shabir Ahmed, the British-Pakistani ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang. Ahmed was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2012 for the rape, abuse, and trafficking of over 50 girls. After serving just over half his sentence, he was released on license and now lives in 24-hour staffed accommodation with a GPS electronic tag. Public outrage has followed, but writer Sharan Dhaliwal argues that deportation is not the solution.
Mahmood's proposed amendment
Mahmood seeks to amend the 1971 Immigration Act, which currently prevents removal of Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973, as Ahmed did. However, Pakistan has repeatedly stated it will not accept Ahmed back. Dhaliwal calls the deportation plan a "red herring" that portrays the abuse of women and girls as an external problem rather than a British one.
Systemic failures and broader context
Dhaliwal emphasizes that Ahmed's crimes occurred on British soil due to failures of British institutions. The Rochdale case involved nine British-Pakistani men initially arrested, and as of October 2025, 61 men had been convicted for sex offences in the area. Sentences ranged from 4 to 12 years, which many see as a miscarriage of justice. Dhaliwal argues that the focus should be on reforming the criminal justice system to ensure longer sentences for sexual offenders, rather than using immigration law as a distraction.
Victims' voices and need for change
Survivors of grooming gangs have written to MPs asking for an end to early release for sexual offenders. A mother of a late victim expressed fear that perpetrators may return to the community sooner than expected. Dhaliwal contends that Ahmed belongs in jail forever, and that the law should change in the courts, not in immigration. A No 10 spokeswoman described Ahmed's crimes as "one of the darkest moments in our country's history," yet he is no longer behind bars.
Conclusion: real solutions needed
Rather than pursuing deportation, which Pakistan rejects, Dhaliwal calls for examining the criminal justice system. She asserts that the problem is not one man but the toxic environment that allowed such abuse to thrive. Britain must take responsibility and ensure that perpetrators face appropriate punishment, not just removal.
