Rochdale grooming gang ringleader gets prison ‘equality’ role
THE vile ringleader of the notorious Rochdale child sex grooming gang has been appointed ‘equalities representative’ at his maximum security jail.
Shabir Ahmed was handed the role in a move branded an ‘insult’ to his victims despite having attempted to blame his crimes on Western society for allowing young girls to ‘parade on the streets’.
The former taxi driver, 69 – who forced his victims to call him ‘Daddy’ – also tried to use human rights laws to claim his all-white jury had been biased and influenced by far-Right groups.
His extraordinary new status was revealed in a summary of the Parole Board’s decision to reject his bid to be released from Wakefield prison – known as ‘monster mansion’ because it houses some of Britain’s most dangerous inmates.
Only last month a damning report revealed how Ahmed – then a Labour Party member – was allowed to keep working as a council welfare officer despite being accused of preying on a young girl.
Nazir Afzal, the chief crown prosecutor who was key to bringing the group to justice, branded Ahmed’s prison appointment ‘staggering both in its insensitivity and appropriateness’.
‘It’s like putting the wolf in charge of the sheep,’ he added.
One of Ahmed’s victims said she was ‘appalled and sickened’.
Now in her late 20s, ‘Girl A’ said: ‘What the hell were the prison authorities thinking of?
‘It’s insane to think they would let a racist like him anywhere near that kind of role.’
She added: ‘The truth is that he’s a sick paedophile who’s also the most racist person I’ve ever seen. It’s total madness.’
Sources said the role of equalities representative involved ‘collating’ views from inmates on the same wing and reporting back to prison staff.
Ahmed would have applied for the post and been subject to vetting, including consideration of the offence for which he was locked up.
Whistleblower Maggie Oliver, who resigned as a detective over failings in how police handled grooming cases in Rochdale, said it was ‘an insult to victims’.
She added: ‘To give an equalities position to a child rapist who blames Western society for his appalling crimes demonstrates a shocking lack of judgment by authorities.’
The latest scandal comes after the Daily Mail revealed last month that fellow ringleader Abdul Aziz, 51, won his battle against deportation back to his native Pakistan.
Ahmed was part of a ninestrong sex-grooming gang from Rochdale who were convicted for targeting 47 girls as young as 13 between 2005 and 2008.
The victims were plied with drugs and alcohol and were assaulted and raped by as many as five men. Ahmed was given a 19-year sentence for conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, two rapes, aiding and abetting rape, sexual assault and sex trafficking.
He was later jailed for a further 22 years, to run concurrently, for 30 child rapes against a girl after a separate trial.
Ahmed subsequently tried to use human rights laws to claim the all- white jury had been biased and influenced by farRight groups.
But judges in Strasbourg rejected his ‘ manifestly illfounded’ bid. The European Court of Human Rights also threw out his attempt to argue the case against him had been ‘tailored by police to fit antiMuslim prejudice’.
In 2016, while incarcerated in Wakefield, he flew into a rage when he heard a frail inmate respond to the Brussels suicide bombings by saying terrorists should be ‘eradicated’.
Ahmed threatened to kill 71year- old James Palmer ‘if you slag off Muslims again’, before stamping on his head. A judge later handed him a further 12 months behind bars. He became eligible for parole last month but a panel concluded he should remain locked up.
Last month, a report into claims child sexual abuse was covered up by the Labour establishment in Oldham – which neighbours Rochdale – raised concerns over Ahmed’s status.
Although Greater Manchester Police received an allegation against him in 2005, it chose not to inform his bosses at Oldham Council. Had this happened, ‘it may have potentially avoided the tragic abuse of other children’, the report said.
A Prison Service spokesman said last night: ‘This role includes no safeguarding responsibilities and is intended to improve the behaviour of the prisoner.’
‘Shocking lack of judgment’