Latest news with #NazirAfzal
Daily Mail
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Grooming gang ringleader who Keir Starmer helped jail in 2012 has STILL not been deported back to Pakistan after winning human rights battle
A notorious grooming gang ringleader who the Prime Minister helped put in jail cannot be deported back to Pakistan after winning a human rights battle. As Director of Public Prosecutions between 2008 and 2013 - before entering politics - Sir Keir Starmer insists he tackled Asian child abuse rings 'head on'. Among those jailed was Abdul Aziz, known as 'The Master' by fellow members of the infamous Rochdale grooming gang locked up for a total of 77 years in 2012. They were brought to justice after the future PM appointed Nazir Afzal as chief crown prosecutor for North West England. After reviewing the file, in 2011 Mr Afzal overturned the original Crown Prosecution Service decision not to put the men on trial on the grounds that the main victim was 'unreliable'. Four of the abusers faced being deported after being freed from jail as they had dual British-Pakistani citizenship. However the Mail later revealed how Aziz - now 54 - cannot be thrown out of the country because he renounced his Pakistani citizenship in 2018. He did so five days before the Court of Appeal threw out a bid by the taxi driver and two other members of the gang against being stripped of British nationality. Adil Khan and Qari Abdul Rauf, both now 55, also renounced their Pakistani citizenship - but only after the court case. However, despite losing appeals against deportation both also remain living in Rochdale after claims they would be rendered 'stateless'. Rauf - understood to have working for a takeaway delivery app - was this year branded 'a monster' by shocked neighbours. Aziz ferried victims to sex parties as far away as Leeds and Bradford. He was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and jailed for nine years. A fourth member of the gang, 72-year-old Shabir Ahmed, did not contest being stripped of his British citizenship, it is understood. He is the only member still behind bars, serving a 22-year sentence.
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Man City boss Pep Guardiola delivers politically-charged speech about Gaza after receiving his honorary degree from University of Manchester
Pep Guardiola delivered a powerful and politically-charged speech about Gaza after receiving his honorary degree from the University of Manchester on Monday. The Man City manager, who was awarded with an honorary doctorate degree for his contribution to the city during his nine years at the Etihad, admitted the war is Gaza 'hurts all [his] body' and sent a powerful warning to those who are turning a blind eye. Guardiola joined Manchester City in 2016, succeeding Manuel Pellegrini, and has since won a rich array of honours including six Premier League titles, four League Cups, two FA Cups and a Champions League trophy. Upon receiving his latest honour, which was presented to him by the university's chancellor, Nazir Afzal, at Whitworth Hall, Guardiola took the opportunity to speak politically about Gaza. 'It's so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts all my body,' the Spaniard said. 'Let me be clear - it's not about ideology. It's not about I'm right and you're wrong. Come on, it's just about the love of life. About the care of your neighbour. 'Maybe we think that we can see the boys and girls of four years old being killed with a bomb or being killed at the hospital - which is not a hospital anymore - and think it's not our business. 'Yeah, fine. We can think about that. It's not our business, but be careful. The next one will be hours. The next four, five year-old kids will be ours. Sorry that I see my kids Maria, Marius and Valentina every morning since the nightmare started in Gaza. And I'm so scared.' He continued: 'Maybe this image feels far away from where we are living now. And you might ask what we can do. 'There's a story I'm reminded of. A forest is on fire. All the animals live terrified, helpless. But the small bird flies back and forth to the sea, back and forth carrying drops of water in this little beak. 'A snake laughs and asks, "Why bro? You will never put the fire out." The poor bird replies, "Yes I know it". '"Then why do you do it again and again", the snake asks once again. "I'm just doing my part", the bird replies for the last time. The bird knows that he won't stop the fire but it refused to do nothing. 'In a world that often tells us that we are too small to make a difference, that story reminds me that the power of one is not about the scale, it's about choice. About showing up, about refusing to be silent or still when it matters most.' Earlier this week, the UN warned that Gaza is facing 'atrocious levels of death and destruction' and demanded that Israel allow a 'flood of aid' into the city. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, said the prohibition of key supplies and strict quotas are being unnecessarily imposed. He said: 'All the aid authorised until now amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required. The needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering.' According to Guterres, there are 9,000 trucks of supplies being held with only small levels of aid having been allowed into Palestine following Israel's 11-week-long blockade on food, fuel, water and medicine. Meanwhile, Guardiola also spoke about his love of Manchester upon receiving his honorary degree, admitting that the city is now 'part of [his] bones'. He said: 'Catalonia is my hometown, but Manchester will remain something unique for the rest of my life. I have lived the best moments of my life here. 'I even start to love the rain, the dark days and nights. It's part of my bones, I would say. I get it, I get it. You have to love what you do. Something comes from the gut. Don't do it because maybe I will have more money or something else. Do it because you love it. 'Everything comes from passion. Everything comes from something inside. If you do it just because people say you have to do this, you have to do that. It's why I'm grateful my mum and dad never pushed me into this or did that. 'Do it because you love it, I think that is the only advice I leave to my kids - and I do many times.' Mail Sport reported in May how Guardiola and his wife Cristina Serra are 'still estranged' and 'will remain so' unless anything dramatic occurs. It was claimed in April that the couple were trying to give their marriage a second chance after Guardiola and his fashion entrepreneur wife spent three days together at their former Barcelona marital home over Easter. The couple's eldest daughter Maria opened up on her parents' lessons about love after becoming the first family member to speak since the shock news of their split, which was first reported in January. The influencer and fashionista said in a Spanish magazine interview published around the same time her dad's break-up with Cristina emerged: 'My parents have always advised me to find what I am passionate about. 'They encourage me to try new things, to accept failure and to keep searching until I find my calling, because when I do, full dedication will come naturally. They also remind me that the most important thing in life is to love and be loved.' The 24-year-old went on to tell Vanity Fair Spain: 'In the end it all comes down to feeling loved.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Guardiola awarded honorary degree by University of Manchester
Pep Guardiola has been awarded an honorary degree by The University of Manchester, in recognition of his contribution to the city on and off the pitch over the past nine was presented with the award by the University's chancellor, Nazir Afzal, in a ceremony at Whitworth Hall. The award honours not only his sporting success but also his inspirational work away from football, including through his family foundation, the Guardiola Sala arriving in 2016, Guardiola has led the club through the greatest period in their history, including a run of four straight Premier League league titles and a remarkable Treble in 2023."Manchester means so much to me. I have spent nine years here and it has become home. The people, the culture, my incredible football club, my colleagues… it is all so special to me and my family," Guardiola said."The way this city embraced me made everything easy. My time here has been beautiful."I know how important the University of Manchester is to our city. It's the home to a lot of research and it has a history of discovery. So, honestly, to be honoured in this way by such an esteemed institution is an amazing feeling."Professor Duncan Ivison, president and vice-chancellor of the university said: "Pep is an innovator and a winner who has inspired millions of people through his success as a manager. He has played a huge role in making Manchester a global success story."
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
BBC partly upholds complaint by British Sikh group over ‘Asian grooming gangs' interview
The Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO) has had a complaint it made to the BBC about a Radio 4 programme on Pakistani-heritage grooming gangs partly upheld. The NSO wrote to the BBC to complain about "various inaccuracies and deflection" in the broadcast on 12 Jan involving an interview with Nazir Afzal about "Asian grooming gangs" in Britain after they garnered renewed publicity following interventions by Elon Musk. The presenter, Edward Stourton, confronted Afzal, who was chief prosecutor at the time of the grooming gangs epidemic, with complaints by Hindus and Sikh groups regarding the term "Asian grooming gangs" which they said tarred all British Asians with the same brush and instead wanted the term "Pakistani heritage" used. Stourton alleged the word Asian was "misleading." Afzal responded: "I've got no problem with what you call it, but I think the Hindu community and the Sikh community need to have a look at themselves as well. Just two years ago Sikh Women's Aid (SWA), which is the main body run by women to protect women who are suffering abuse within the Sikh community, published their report on abuse within the Sikh community and, could you believe it, it was really really bad; so bad actually that they didn't want to put their name to it. They reached out to me and said, Nazir, would you do the foreword for our report? I said, why are you asking a British Muslim man to do the report? They said, firstly, if we put our names to it they are going to come for us, and secondly we couldn't find a Sikh man that would put his name to it." The NSO, in its complaint, said: "It is simply not true the authors did not want to put their name to the report, they did. Second, when Mr Afzal says that no Sikh man would put their name to the same report – again this is simply not true – there were three." The BBC executive complaints unit, in its published response, has admitted that three Sikh men had put their name to the report, but it did not uphold the complaint about the authors of the SWA report, saying their motive in contacting Afzal was contested. NSO in its complaint had also questioned why SWA, which focuses on domestic violence against women and girls within the Sikh community, was conflated with a debate on group-based child sexual exploitation perpetrated by majority Pakistani Muslim men on Radio 4 and why the presenter did not challenge this. "The presenter should have also been informed of the fact that both Hindu and Sikh communities have also fallen victim of 'grooming gangs' too. The BBC have made a documentary on the issue of British Sikh girls being targeted," the NSO wrote. The BBC failed to address these aspects of the complaint. Hardeep Singh, deputy director of the NSO, told TOI: "We will likely escalate the matter to Ofcom as the BBC correction only addresses part of our original complaint." Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
