UK plans change to 1971 Immigration Act to allow deportation of convicted offender but no Pakistan agreement exists

The UK government will amend the Immigration Act 1971 to permit the deportation of Shabir Ahmed, a 73-year-old man convicted of multiple child sexual offences including rape. The home secretary is expected to outline the planned change on Monday. Ahmed was sentenced to 22 years in prison in August 2012 after leading a group that exploited girls as young as 13 at two takeaway restaurants in Rochdale.

He was released on licence in the week before 8 July 2026 and placed in 24-hour staffed accommodation under an electronically monitored curfew, GPS tag, exclusion zones and sex-offender registration requirements. The amendment would remove a provision that currently bars deportation of certain Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 and had lived there for five years.

Ahmed held dual British-Pakistani citizenship and was stripped of his British citizenship following his conviction.

A government source stated that the legislative process could take up to a year. Officials said any breach of the licence conditions would result in immediate return to prison. The Home Office said Ahmed remains subject to the full set of restrictions.

Some victims said they felt frightened and unsafe after learning of the release through social media. Paul Waugh, MP for Rochdale, said the next step is to make crystal clear to Pakistan that they should take him back. The Rochdale MP added that changing the law would be the first step toward giving victims assurance they would not have to face him again.

The Conservative shadow home secretary urged the government to support an amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill that would permit deportation. A Home Office minister told MPs the government would continue efforts to remove Ahmed for his crimes. No agreement currently exists with Pakistan to accept his return, according to BBC News.