Grooming gang leader was housed near playground

A Rochdale grooming gang leader has been removed from a town where he was placed after his release from prison, following concerns he had been housed near a playground and a mosque.

Shabir Ahmed, who was jailed for multiple counts of child rape and sexual offences in 2012, was placed in Accrington after being released on licence at the start of July.

In a letter to Lancashire Police, Kamran Mahmood, the chief executive of Ghausia Rizvia Jamia Masjid, said putting Ahmed nearby was "a serious error of judgement" and threatened "public safety" and "community cohesion".

Hyndburn MP Sarah Smith said he had now been moved but she was "disgusted that he was ever here in the first place".

The Ministry of Justice confirmed to the BBC Ahmed had been relocated outside the borough.

Ahmed, who came to the UK from Pakistan in the late 1960s, was one of nine men from Rochdale and Oldham who were convicted of exploiting, abusing and raping girls as young as 12 at two takeaway restaurants.

He was jailed for 22 years and released on licence earlier this month.

He had dual British-Pakistani citizenship before being stripped of his UK passport following his conviction but cannot be deported due to a 1971 law forbidding the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago.

The Home Office said the provisions of the 1971 act had "protected many individuals caught up in the Windrush crisis", but Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced plans to change the law following mounting calls for Ahmed's deportation.

In the letter sent to Lancashire Police, the masjid's chief executive said Ahmed's placement "at the heart of our community" in Accrington was "a serious error of judgement by the relevant authorities".

He said the location near a playground and the mosque "places an individual convicted of serious sexual offences in immediate proximity to children, families and vulnerable members of the public who use these spaces daily".

"This placement has already caused significant distress, fear and anger within our communities," he said.

He added that the masjid's committee wanted reassurances that steps would be taken to "protect public safety and maintain community cohesion".

Smith said she could confirm Ahmed "has been moved" but she was "disgusted that he was ever here in the first place".

She called for a "much wider exclusion zone" so that he was "not placed in Lancashire or the North West", adding that he should be "deported as soon as possible".

"His release will bring back unimaginable trauma for the women whose lives were changed forever by his sickening crimes," she said.

"They deserved to know that once he left prison, he would leave this country.

"Instead they have been told he remains here, far too close to the scenes of his crimes and to his victims."

She said Ahmed "led one of the most notorious grooming gangs in British history and subjected children to vile abuse" and it was "deeply shocking he was then released into our community".

The BBC understands Ahmed was in 24-hour staffed accommodation, wearing a GPS electronically-monitored tag.

The Home Office said any breach of Ahmed's strict licence conditions would result in him being immediately returned to prison.

Billy Howarth, a campaigner who has been supporting two of the Rochdale gang's victims since 2014, said they were "frightened for their lives" over Ahmed's release, and they felt let down by the state "yet again".

"They want me to fight on getting him deported and that is exactly what we're going to do."

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