Members of Rochdale grooming gang face deportation to Pakistan

Four members of a child grooming gang are facing deportation to Pakistan after losing a legal appeal against their British citizenship being revoked.

The men, who preyed on teenage girls in Rochdale by plying them with drink and drugs before they were “passed around” for sex, could be removed from the UK permanently.

Shabir Ahmed, Adil Khan, Abdul Rauf and Abdul Aziz, all from Rochdale, had their cases dismissed on all grounds by immigration judges.

The ruling by the upper tribunal of the immigration and asylum chamber paves the way for the men, all of dual British-Pakistani nationality who acquired British citizenship by naturalisation, to be removed from the UK – but it is only the first stage in what could be a protracted process.

Ahmed was convicted in 2012 of being the ringleader of a group of Asian men who preyed on girls as young as 13 in Rochdale. He is serving a 22-year jail sentence after being convicted of a string of child sexual abuse offences including rape.

The case centres on a decision by Theresa May, then home secretary, proposing to deprive the men of their British citizenship on the grounds that it would be “conducive to the public good”.

Handing down the judgment, Mr Justice McCloskey, president of the upper tribunal, said the cases were “of some notoriety” and described the crimes as “shocking, brutal and repulsive”.

A summary of the ruling said: “The appellants were all many years older than their victims. In some cases girls were raped callously and viciously and in others they were forced to have sex with paying customers.”

Judges dismissed five different grounds of appeal, including an argument by three of the men that the government had failed in a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of their children.

The ruling also threw out a complaint of “disproportionate interference” with the men’s rights as EU citizens and rejected claims concerning human rights laws.

The decision on Thursday was the first step in what could be a drawn-out process, and the Home Office must fulfil a number of steps before the men can be lawfully deported. The four men can apply for permission to appeal against the judge’s decision.

The Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk called for the men to be deported to Pakistan as soon as possible. He said: “We welcome many people coming to the UK, to contribute, but if they break the law then they should lose their right to live here. Foreign-born criminals should not be able to hide behind human rights laws to avoid deportation.”

Abdul Aziz (eft) and Abdul Rauf are the other two members of the grooming gang. Photograph: Greater Manchester police/PA

Shabir Ahmed (left) and Adil Khan could be removed from the UK permanently. Photograph: Greater Manchester police/PA

Ahmed remains in custody, while the other three have been released on licence. Khan, Rauf and Aziz were convicted of charges of conspiracy and trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Ahmed previously took his case to the European court of human rights (ECHR) claiming that his all-white jury was biased, in breach of article 6 of the European convention on human rights which guarantees a fair trial.

Judges in Strasbourg unanimously threw out his case, finding there was “simply no proof” jurors acted improperly.

McCloskey, Britain’s most senior immigration judge, has previously criticised the men’s solicitors, the Nottingham-based firm Burton and Burton, for “frankly shameful” behaviour, saying they had failed to submit the necessary papers to the court and had repeatedly asked for adjournments.

He said at an immigration tribunal: “The conduct of these appeals has been cavalier and unprofessional. The rule of law has been weakened in consequence.”

Source: The Guardian