HOME secretary Shabana Mahmood will set out on Monday the legal steps the government plans to take to deport Shabir Ahmed, the freed ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang.
Ahmed was jailed for 22 years in 2012 after being convicted of multiple child sexual offences, including rape. He was released on licence earlier this month after serving his sentence.
Although Ahmed was stripped of his British citizenship following his conviction, he cannot currently be deported because of a 1971 law protecting some Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973. It is not yet clear how the government plans to change the law.
After his release, Ahmed was moved to 24-hour staffed accommodation and fitted with a GPS electronic tag.
The government has said he will be returned to prison if he breaches his licence conditions.
Some victims said they were "frightened" and felt "unsafe" after his release.
Pakistan has not officially commented, but officials have indicated it is "unlikely" to accept Ahmed, who says he renounced his Pakistani citizenship decades ago.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp called for visa sanctions if Pakistan refused to accept Ahmed, while Victims Minister Catherine Atkinson said the government had "not ruled anything out", including emergency legislation.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Keir Starmer said the government was "exploring every available option in this case, including talking to the Pakistani authorities."
Western gorse in bloom near the cottages before the fire National Trust/Daniel Payne
Scorched heathland in front of the Coastguard Cottages, with Sizewell B nuclear power station in the background Toby Shepheard/AFP via Getty Images
A helicopter helps contain the blazeSuffolk County Council
The heathland before it was devastated National Trust/Justin Minns
