Another day, another announcement from the Home Secretary about fixing a broken system that never should have been broken in the first place. Shabana Mahmood says she will amend the Immigration Act 1971 to let us deport foreign criminals like Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang. Good. But why on earth did it take his release on licence to spark this sudden burst of common sense?
Ahmed was convicted in 2012 of multiple child sexual offences including rape. He got 22 years. Served around 14. Walked out in early July 2026. Stripped of his British citizenship, he holds only Pakistani nationality. Yet Section 7 of that 1971 Act has been shielding long-term Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973. It prevented his removal. Mahmood told Parliament the protections "should not be acting as a bar against removal in cases like that of Shabir Ahmed."
Our amendment will provide the home secretary with a new power to disapply Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971 for serious criminals.
She is right about that much. The change comes via an amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill. It targets the vilest offenders. It does not guarantee success. Pakistan has already refused to take Ahmed back. He claims he renounced his Pakistani citizenship. Officials are still negotiating. Mahmood herself admitted, "It is important to note this does not guarantee his removal from this country."
The real scandal
Here is what grates. We knew what Ahmed and his gang were doing for years before the convictions. Vulnerable girls in Rochdale and Oldham were passed around, raped, threatened. The authorities had reports. They hesitated. Some feared being called racist. The girls paid the price. Their families still live with the damage. And now, after all that, we are scrambling to change the law so one of the worst offenders does not stay here on licence?
Ordinary parents and taxpayers have watched this farce long enough. We fund a justice system that locks these men up, then ties itself in knots trying to keep them. We watch politicians lecture us about human rights while the rights of British children get trampled. How many more announcements like this will we need before the system actually puts victims first?
Mahmood frames this as delivering justice and protecting the public. Fine words. But the delay tells its own story. The original law was meant to protect decent long-term residents, not monsters who treat our streets like hunting grounds. Twisting it now for Ahmed is the bare minimum. It should have been done years ago.
