Patel accused of ‘excuses’ over deportation of trio
Culture Recovery Fund
THE Home Secretary has been accused of ‘making excuses’ after claims that calls to ban members of the Rochdale grooming gang who are fighting deportation from the town went unheeded.
There has been widespread anger over the past week after one of the nine men convicted in 2012 of a catalogue of sex offences against vulnerable girls - Abdul Rauf - was pictured shopping in Rochdale.
Rauf, 52, was jailed for six years for trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.
He was released in November 2014 after serving two years and six months of his sentence.
In July 2015, The Home Office began the process of removing Rauf’s British citizenship and those of two other men convicted alongside him - Adil Khan, 51 and Abdul Aziz, 50 - who all had dual Uk-pakistani citizenship, in order to pave the way for their deportation.
They all legally challenged this, claiming it breached their human rights and those of their children, which was rejected by the Court of Appeal in 2018.
However, despite losing their appeal against deportation nearly three years ago, there have been numerous sightings of them in and around Rochdale in the subsequent years.
Last week, Rauf was photographed piling a shopping trolley with fizzy drinks at a store in town, as well as carrying a takeaway food bag. Claims have now emerged Priti Patel called for court orders to be used to curb their freedoms a year ago. In an article in The Sun, a source close to the
Home Secretary said she wrote to Andy Burnham last July suggesting sexual harm prevention orders (SHPOS) could be used to impose restrictions on the gang members whilst they fought deportation, as the conditions of their prison licence had expired.
SHPOS can be imposed on those convicted of sexual offences and can exclude them from particular places, stop them carrying out specified activities and even ban them from using the internet.
However, to be able to consider a sexual harm prevention order, a court must be satisfied that an offender currently presents a risk of sexual harm to the public and that an order, and all its specific prohibitions, are necessary to protect against that risk.
The Rochdale Observer understands that GMP con
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GMP declined to comment.
Last week, Baroness Bev Hughes, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester with responsibility for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice said: “The Mayor and I have repeatedly asked the Home Secretary to intervene and do the right thing by these victims.
“All we have had are excuses but no action.”
The Home Office said: ”The Home Secretary has been clear that what happened in places such as Rochdale remains one of the biggest stains on our country’s conscience.
“The cases of the foreign national offenders involved in these crimes have recently been reviewed at the request of the Home Secretary and we intend to update the victims through the proper channels when we can.”
The main victim of the abuse, who was referred to as Girl A in press reports of the 2012 trial, told us: “These monsters were told they were going to be deported back to Pakistan in 2015 and yet they are still walking the streets of the town where they abused dozens of girls like me.
“We were told they would be kicked out of the country. Knowing that had been done would have been a huge help for all of us in trying to rebuild our lives.
“But instead we’re still haunted by the paedophiles who raped and trafficked us. Every day we run the risk of bumping into these rapists and paedophiles.”
FOR over a year not only have culture lovers been starved of access to the arts, many creative and cultural organisations have struggled to survive.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has made the much needed and very welcome announcement that more than 2,700 cultural and creative organisations are to receive a share of £400 million as part of a vital financial boost from the government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund.
Among local organisations to receive these vital grants are English Folk Expo and Link4life.
English Folk Expo support the English folk, roots and acoustic music sector through showcases, artist and industry development, live events, commissions, and other initiatives.
It promotes UK and international folk music in Greater Manchester via the Manchester Folk Festival, Rochdale Folk Festival and a year-round promotions programme taking place in venues across the city region.
CEO and local councillor, Tom Besford said: “This funding will enable us to press ahead and deliver a broad and dynamic programme of events and activities, including the Rochdale Folk Festival this June, artist training and development work, and loads of great live and online folk music content.” »
The award of £317,000 will enable Link4life to gradually re-open and safely re-start exhibitions, performances and community delivery programmes at cultural venues including Touchstones Museum and Art Gallery, Middleton Arena and Heywood Civic Centre.
It will enable new educational resources and programmes using the collections to be created for schools and will ensure local residents can look forward to an exciting programme of creative events and opportunities as we head towards the summer months and beyond.
Darren Grice, Deputy CEO, Link4life said: “This investment is vital to enable us to safely reopen venues and welcome back audiences.
“It also means we can begin the careful reintroduction of face-to-face community engagement programmes in the coming months and ensure local people remain at the heart of what we do and how we do it.
“Of course, all of this will only be possible because we will have the opportunity to invest in great talent and creativity.
“Artists will be at the centre of our plans and we hope that, in our small way, we can help to rebuild a creative sector that can continue to provide so much benefit for so many”. »