MP’s outrage at failure to deport abuse gang members
ROCHDALE MP Tony Lloyd has demanded to know why three members of the town’s infamous grooming gang haven’t been deported even though they lost their right to remain in the UK two years ago.
Adil Khan, Qari Abdul Rauf and Abdul Aziz were among nine mostly Pakistani-heritage men jailed in 2012 for their part in the sexual abuse of children in Rochdale and Heywood, with the perpetrators sharing their white victims with other men at sex parties across the north of England.
The trio of dual British-Pakistani nationals saw their British citizenship revoked as a result of their crimes so they could be deported. In 2018 they lost an appeal against the ruling but it has emerged, two years on, they remain in Rochdale.
Last week, the M.E.N. revealed how one of the victims was left in tears when she bumped into her abuser at Asda in Rochdale town centre.
Mr Lloyd wrote to Justice Secretary Robert Buckland on February 20, alerting him to ‘strong rumours...that some of these men are either living in or sometimes visit Rochdale, and that on at least one occasion a victim has come into contact with their former abuser.’ He asked for a meeting with the minister to discuss the ‘frankly deplorable’ situation.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the minister only replied on April 22, pointing out the Probation Service ceased to have involvement with convicts once their period in jail and subsequent time on licence expires, as is the case with the three men in question. All three, however, were put on the sex offenders’ register for life.
Mr Buckland wrote: “I do very much appreciate how distressing it will have been for the victims of these appalling offences to see or hear of the offenders living back in their area. Under current legislation, the powers of the National Probation Service cease when the sentence ends and this is the case for a number of those who were convicted for the offences in Rochdale.
“Whilst this does not mean that the offenders are free of all oversight (they will remain, for example, subject to sex offender notification requirements), it does mean that there are no powers to prohibit the offender returning to live in the area in which they offended or where the victim lives.”
The letter did not refer to the failure to deport the men.
Mr Lloyd, recovering after falling seriously ill with Covid-19, has again demanded the minister explain the three men’s continued presence in Rochdale.
He told the M.E.N: “If I were one of the victims of the grooming gang, I would be furious at this response and I am furious on their behalf.
“I’m now requesting an urgent telephone call with the Justice Secretary to ask why deportation has not taken place and to see what steps can be taken to ensure these women do not have to live in fear of bumping into their attackers in their home town.”
The Home Office has previously refused to explain why the three men haven’t been deported. The Ministry of Justice declined to comment.