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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
42 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Suspend visas, stop aid: we must do whatever it takes to deport Pakistani child rapists
Qari Rauf and Adil Khan are among two of Britain's worst rape gang offenders. They were the ringleaders of a nine-strong gang of Asian men who sexually assaulted 47 girls – some as young as 12 – after plying them with drink and drugs. They are now out of prison, free to walk the same streets as the victims they terrorise. Convicted, but not properly punished. It's completely out of order. Why are these Pakistani nationals – who have committed evil crimes – still here, you will be asking. Well, they have exploited a loophole to renounce their Pakistani citizenship and the Pakistani government is refusing to take them back. I have some advice for the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, on how to resolve this problem. He should pick up the phone to Pakistan's High Commissioner, summon him to the Foreign Office and give them a week to take back these men. If they don't, visas should be immediately suspended for all Pakistanis wanting to come to the UK. If they continue to refuse, aid should be suspended. It's that simple. That's what a Government motivated by keeping the British public safe would do. But right now we are being walked over and everyone can see it. These two rape gang perpetrators are really just the tip of the iceberg. Most have gone unpunished, their crimes ignored by authorities paralysed by fear of being called racist. The Telford inquiry found over a thousand girls were raped and abused. Just 10 men have been convicted for their crimes. The Rotherham inquiry found that 1400 girls were raped and abused. Just 60 or so men have gone to prison for their crimes. The national inquiry Starmer has been forced to announce is a step forward, but this can only be the beginning. Justice demands we punish every single perpetrator for their heinous crimes. The NCA must now pursue the abusers – they are much better placed than local police forces marred by the scandal – and the guilty men need full life sentences. If they are foreign nationals they must be added to the 18,982 foreign nationals subject to deportation proceedings currently in the community and the 9,800 foreign offenders in prison. All must be removed. For some foreign criminals the obstacle to their deportation is their home country refusing to cooperate, for others it is human rights obstacles – in many cases caused by the Strasbourg Court stretching the ECHR beyond recognition. There are some in Westminster who still say we shouldn't deport these people in case they are unfairly punished back in their home country. To that I say: tough luck. I couldn't care less. My sole interest is protecting the British public from dangerous criminals who have committed appalling crimes. I have long argued that reform of the ECHR is impossible. This week the head of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, finally confirmed what many else have long suspected. He let the cat out the bag: 'I am not calling for reform of the ECHR… When states face complex challenges, the answer is not to dismantle the legal guardrails they themselves helped build.' There we have it. So, once David Lammy has finished delivering his ultimatum to the Pakistani government, he can report back to the Prime Minister that his ruse of 'reforming' the ECHR is a pointless charade. Starmer has an obvious choice: remain in a broken convention to appease his legal pals, or leave the convention to protect the British public and manage rights with responsibilities sensibly like America and Australia. Increasing the deportations of dangerous foreign criminals while we continue to import criminality from high-risk countries is like bailing out a sinking ship with a bucket. Restrictions on migration from high-risk countries – like Eritrea, whose nationals are estimated, based on conviction data from 2021 to 2023, to be twenty times more likely to account for sexual offence convictions than British citizens – are a prerequisite for safer streets.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
'Absolutely staggering' security breach at RAF base - as activists break in and vandalise aircraft
Sir Keir Starmer has condemned pro-Palestinian activists who broke into a RAF base in Oxfordshire as "disgraceful". Palestine Action targeted RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military aircraft in what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) branded an act of "vandalism". The pro-Palestinian group posted on X to say it had broken into the site - the largest RAF station with approximately 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors. In a video shared online, a person can be seen approaching an aircraft on a scooter as music is played. Red paint can be seen on the ground. In a post on X, the prime minister branded the breach an "act of vandalism" and "disgraceful". "Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us," he added. The MoD also condemned the group's actions, adding: "We are working closely with the police who are investigating." In a statement, Palestine Action - which focuses its campaigns on multinational arms dealers and has previously targeted corporate banks - said it had damaged two military planes at the RAF base, where flights depart on a daily basis for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The UK has two military bases on the island of Cyprus, a legacy of its former status as a British colony. When it gained independence from Britain in 1960, it was agreed that Britain would maintain two "sovereign base areas" at Akrotiri in the south west and Dhekelia in the south east. Aircraft based at Akrotiri include RAF Typhoons, which were used last year in strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as Puma helicopters. The group said two activists "broke into the largest air force base in Britain and used electric scooters to swiftly manoeuvre towards the planes". They said repurposed fire extinguishers were used to spray red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers, while further damage was made using crowbars. "Red paint, symbolising Palestinian bloodshed was also sprayed across the runway and a Palestine flag was left on the scene," the statement added. "Both activists managed to evade security and arrest." Work is under way to assess whether any damage has been caused, it is understood. No operations or planned movements are thought to have been affected. A senior RAF source told Sky News: "The claims made by the group who broke into RAF Brize Norton show a complete lack of understanding of how the RAF operates and what these aircraft do. "The UK is not supporting Israeli operations and these aircraft have not been used in support of Israeli forces in any shape or form." Ben Obese-Jecty, a Liberal Democrat MP and former army officer, said the breach at Brize Norton was "absolutely staggering". "Given the current heightened global tensions, the increase in activity and the recent exploitation of the vulnerability of Russian airbases by Ukraine, it is incredible that our busiest RAF base could be compromised," he said.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Tax hike fears mount after government borrowing jumps in May
Fears the Chancellor will raise taxes in the autumn have been fuelled after official figures showed the highest May government borrowing outside the pandemic despite a tax boost from the national insurance hike. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing surged to £17.7 billion last month, the second highest figure on record for May, surpassed only at the height of Covid. May borrowing was £700 million higher than a year earlier, though it was slightly less than the £18 billion most economists had been expecting. The higher borrowing came in spite of a surge in the tax take from national insurance after Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased employer contributions in April. The decision, which was announced in last autumn's budget, has seen wage costs soar for firms across the UK as they also faced a minimum wage rise in the same month. Experts warned the higher borrowing figures raised the chances of tax hikes to come in the budget later this year, with Ms Reeves under pressure to balance the books amid rising borrowing and her spending commitments. Thomas Pugh, economist at audit and consulting firm RSM UK, said he is pencilling in tax increases of between £10 billion and £20 billion. He said: 'The under-performance of the economy and higher borrowing costs mean the Chancellor may already have lost the £9.9 billion of fiscal headroom that she clawed back in March. 'Throw in the tough outlook for many Government departments announced in the spending review and U-turns on welfare spending and the Chancellor will probably have to announce some top-up tax increases after the summer.' Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, said the borrowing figures 'will only add to speculation that the Chancellor will have to announce more spending cuts or further tax increases at the next budget if she wants to meet her fiscal rules and pay for her spending plans'. 'One big shock could wipe out any headroom Rachel Reeves might have, and there are still question marks about how much of GDP (gross domestic product) should be spent on defence and where the money is going to come from,' she added. Borrowing for the first two months of the financial year to date was £37.7 billion, £1.6 billion more than the same two-month period in 2024, according to the ONS. The data showed so-called compulsory social contributions, largely made up of national insurance contributions (NICs), jumped by £3.9 billion or 14.7% to a record £30.2 billion in April and May combined. Rob Doody, deputy director for public sector finances, said: 'While receipts were up, thanks partly to higher income tax revenue and national insurance contributions, spending was up more, affected by increased running costs and inflation-linked uplifts to many benefits.' While May's borrowing out-turn was lower than economists were expecting, it was more than the £17.1 billion pencilled in by the UK's independent fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), in March. The figures showed that central government tax receipts in May increased by £3.5 billion to £61.7 billion, while higher NICs saw social contributions rise by £1.8 billion to £15.1 billion last month alone. Public sector net debt, excluding public sector banks, stood at £2.87 trillion at the end of May and was estimated at 96.4% of GDP, which was 0.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier and remains at levels last seen in the early 1960s. The ONS said the sale of the final tranche of taxpayer shares in NatWest, formerly Royal Bank of Scotland, cut net debt by £800 million last month, but did not have an impact on borrowing in the month. Interest payments on debt, which are linked to inflation, fell £700 million to £7.6 million due to previous falls in the Retail Prices Index (RPI). But recent rises in RPI are expected to see debt interest payments race higher in June. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones insisted the Government had 'stabilised the economy and the public finances'. 'Since taking office, we have taken the right decisions to protect working people, begin repairing the NHS, and fix the foundations to rebuild Britain,' he said.
