Rochdale grooming gang 'cannot be deported - because Pakistan refuses to take them'

Rochdale grooming gang ringleaders reportedly cannot be deported because Pakistan has relinquished their citizenship and will not take them back.
Politicians and members of the Pakistani government are believed to have been engaged in 'high-level talks' to allow Qari Abdul Rauf, 55, and Adil Khan, 54, to be deported.
The two, who are among the worst grooming offenders in Britain, were originally told they would be sent back to the country after being part of a gang convicted of a catalogue of serious sex offences against young girls in 2012.
Despite both being told they would be deported, and then losing appeals in 2018, the pair remain in the UK.
Although sources previously suggested progress was being made between the UK and Pakistan on the matter, it is reported that officials from the south Asian country have said it would be 'extremely difficult' to take the dangerous duo back.
They also told the Telegraph there was 'no basis' to accept the pair back into Pakistan as they had renounced their citizenship.
However, interior ministry sources have said 'progress' could be made if the UK were to take part in talks.
They also suggested that, while direct flights via its national airline PIA to the UK were suspended, deportation was 'not feasible'.
UK officials said that PIA flights, which had been paused due to safety concerns, had not been raised in discussions, according to The Telegraph.
It comes after a damning review into the grooming gang scandal found councils, police forces, and the Home Office repeatedly 'shied away' from dealing 'uncomfortable' questions about the ethnicity of rapists preying on young girls.
The architect of the bombshell grooming gangs review, Baroness Casey, previously condemned 'do-gooders' who ignored ethnic factors for fear of being branded racist.
She vented fury at the failure to tackle the issues over a decade, saying she was 'raging' on behalf of the victims.
Speaking following the publication of her report, the Whitehall troubleshooter revealed she had found the word 'Pakistani' Tippexed out of a child sex abuse file.
Father-of-five Rauf and Khan were jailed in 2012 after heading the notorious Rochdale grooming gang which included nine Asian men, who sexually assaulted 47 girls. Some victims were as young as 12.
In 2018 the Home Office emerged victorious after a court of appeal ruled the duo as well as another member of the gang, Abdul Aziz, were to be deported after removing their British citizenship.
Rauf and Khan attempted to avoid deportation to their home country by relinquishing their citizenship.
Baroness Casey vented fury at the failure to tackle the issues over a decade, saying she was 'raging' on behalf of the victims
Before the 2018 ruling, Aziz had ripped up his passport, so was allowed to stay in the UK as the Government could not make him stateless as per international law.
A person cannot relinquish their citizenship in the UK if they are not a citizen of another state - a loophole the grooming gang duo attempted to exploit by destroying their Pakistani passports.
Foreign secretary David Lammy has been at the helm of discussions with Pakistan on the matter, as both he and Home Office ministers are understood to be 'working very hard' to strike an agreement on Rauf and Khan's deportation.
Faith minister Lord Khan who has strong connections to Pakistan is also understood to be involved in talks.
Several Pakistanis involved in grooming gangs have been deported including, Rotherham grooming gang member, Khurram Javed, 42, who was sentenced to two years behind bars; Nayyar Tazeem, 34, who was handed a five years prison sentence for grooming and seven sexual assaults; and Rochdale sex offender Kashif Mahmood, 37, who was jailed for two years and seven months.
A Home Office spokesman said it would do 'everything in our power' to deport foreign nationals who commit 'heinous' crimes in the UK.
'The UK and Pakistan are working in partnership on shared migration and return priorities. Both countries recognise and respect our common obligations to return those with no right to remain in our respective countries,' he said.
The Department of Transport confirmed to the Telegraph that an application for Pakistan's national airline to be taken off the UK safety list, so direct flights to the UK could happen, was still being considered.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

BBC News

30 minutes ago

• BBC News

Councillor suspended from Labour over 'offensive' social media

A Labour councillor has been suspended by his local party over social media posts he made more than a decade ago that were deemed racist and supportive of far-right activist Tommy UK highlighted "offensive" posts that they claimed had been made by Ben Westwick - a councillor at Basildon Council in leader Gavin Callaghan said he took the action against Westwick "after I was made aware of social media posts made... before he was elected in 2024".Westwick, who now sits as an independent councillor for Pitsea South East, has been contacted for comment by the BBC. A Twitter/X account belonging to Ben Westwick, which has not had any new posts since 2014, included posts such as one with a sexually explicit image and another that was racist against black people and that included a monkey 2012, his account tweeted "@EDLTrobinson tommy Robinson for prime minister". Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a far-right activist who founded the English Defence League (EDL) and has just been released from prison having served a sentence for contempt of said in a statement: "Whilst I accept that Ben was a young man when he posted these comments and that he has changed his views on a number of issues, I do not believe it is right for him to represent the Labour Party on the council at this time."The local Reform UK party has called for Westwick's "immediate resignation" based on what they call his "numerous offensive, racist, and deeply inappropriate comments made across his social media accounts".Having the whip removed means a politician is no longer obliged to vote with his party at council meetings. It also usually means an individual is suspended from the political party they are a member has been contacted by the BBC about Westwick's party there are two by-elections for Basildon Council due to take place over the next is in Wickford Park ward next Thursday, following the death of Wickford Independents' Dave Harrison, and one in St Martins ward on 17 July after Labour's Maryam Yaqub stood down earlier this month. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Telegraph

32 minutes ago

• Telegraph

Illegal cannabis vapes could contain deadly opioid, warns coroner

Illicit cannabis vapes may contain a deadly opioid that is 20 times more powerful than fentanyl, a coroner has warned. The potent drug presents a 'significant' risk of overdose as the level ingested by inhalation could 'vary enormously', according to Sarah Bourke, the Inner North London assistant coroner. She found vape users may be unaware that nitazene, a synthetic pain reliever, could be present and are unlikely to have access to the antidote naloxone. The warning came following the death of Frederick Ireland-Rose, who overdosed on a cannabis vape laced with the drug in September last year. The 30-year-old was using marijuana to withdraw from opiates and ordered liquid refills online, an inquest heard. After he was found unresponsive at home with a vape in his hand, paramedics initially managed to resuscitate him, but he never regained consciousness and died in hospital a few days later. More potent than fentanyl A toxicologist told the inquest a specific form of nitazene, estimated to be around 20 times more potent than the synthetic opioid fentanyl, was found in Mr Ireland-Rose's blood. Summarising their findings in a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, Ms Bourke said: 'Mr Ireland-Rose was known to purchase cannabinoid vaping fluids online from unknown sources outside the UK.' N-pyrrolidino isotonitazene was found at a level of 0.37 ng/ml in a sample of his blood, she added. 'The toxicologist reported that this is 'a potent synthetic opioid' which is 'thought to be similar or greater in potency to isotonitazene, which is estimated to be approximately 20 times more potent than fentanyl',' she said. 'The toxicologist also reported that 'nitazenes are illicit synthetic opioids which have recently emerged in the heroin supply in the UK'.' There was no evidence to suggest Mr Ireland-Rose used street heroin before his death, the coroner added. Nitazenes detected in refillable vapes She said: 'The toxicologist confirmed that nitazenes can be ingested from a vape and that they have been detected in refillable vapes and vapes bought illicitly.' Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have caused a decade-long drug overdose epidemic in the US, with annual deaths rising from 2,600 in 2011 to 70,601 in 2021. The inquest heard Mr Frederick-Rose had been opiate-free for 10 days when he was found unconscious on Sept 15 last year. After he was resuscitated, he was taken to hospital, where a CT scan revealed a severe brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen, which was 'not compatible with extended life'. He died on Sept 19. Ms Bourke concluded that his death was drug-related and recorded the cause of death as a hypoxic brain injury and acute opioid toxicity.

The Independent

33 minutes ago

• The Independent

China furious as UK warship passes by in patrol

China 's military sharply criticised the passage of a British warship, HMS Spey, through the Taiwan Strait, labelling it a deliberate attempt to "cause trouble" and asserting the waterway constitutes Chinese waters. Britain's Royal Navy maintained the transit was a "routine navigation" conducted in full compliance with international law, aligning with Taiwan and the United States who consider the strait an international waterway. Taiwan's government welcomed the British warship's sailing, affirming its defence of freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te ordered heightened surveillance and intelligence efforts in response to increased Chinese military activities, including a report of 50 aircraft near the island. The incident occurs as China has stepped up military drills around Taiwan, and amid efforts by Britain and China to mend relations, with a potential visit by a British leader to Beijing later this year.