Four members of Rochdale child sex grooming gang face deportation to Pakistan after immigration judges reject citizenship appeals

FOUR members of the Rochdale child sex grooming gang face deportation to Pakistan after an immigration judge rejected their citizenship appeals.

The men had appealed against moves by the Government to strip them of their British citizenship, citing human rights laws.

Their claims were dismissed on all grounds by the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

The ruling paves the way for the men, all of Pakistani nationality, to be removed from the UK.

Among the group is Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of a group of men who preyed on girls in Rochdale.

He is serving a 22-year jail sentence after being convicted of a string of offences in 2012.

The other three claimants are Adil Khan, Qari Abdul Rauf and Abdul Aziz.

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

Then home secretary Theresa May had  proposed removing the criminals' British citizenship on the grounds that it would be "conducive to the public good".

Despite the ruling, the legal battle to deport the men could drag on and they will be able to appeal at later stages in the process.

Ahmed, who was convicted of rape as well as other charges, remains in custody, while the other three men have been released on licence.

Khan, Rauf and Aziz were convicted of conspiracy and trafficking for sexual exploitation charges.

Aziz was not convicted of having sexual intercourse with any child himself.

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk called for the men to be deported to Pakistan "as soon as possible".

He said: "We welcome many people coming to the UK, to contribute, but if they break the law then they should lose their right to live here.

"Foreign-born criminals should not be able to hide behind human rights laws to avoid deportation."

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