Members of sex grooming gang facing deportation

Shabir Ahmed leader of the sex grooming gang

Shabir Ahmed, Adil Khan, Abdul Rauf and Abdul Aziz, all members of a child sex grooming gang, are facing deportation to Pakistan.

The four, among nine men from Rochdale and Oldham who were jailed in 2012 for exploiting girls as young as 13, had challenged Government moves to strip them of their British citizenship.

Mr Justice Bernard McCloskey, described the men's crimes as "shocking, brutal and repulsive".

He dismissed five different grounds of appeal, including an argument by three of the men that the government had failed in a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of their children.

The ruling also dismissed a complaint of a "disproportionate interference" with the men's rights as EU citizens and rejected claims concerning human rights laws.

Despite the ruling, the legal battle to deport the men could drag on for some time as there are further steps the Home Office must complete.

The four men could also appeal on legal grounds, although permission to appeal is granted in fewer than 10% of cases.

Mr Justice McCloskey criticised lawyers representing the gang. He accused them of "frankly shameful" behaviour during a delayed immigration tribunal.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/108010/sex-groom-gang-lawyers-criticised