Overview
- He was released on Thursday and freed on licence after roughly 14 years in custody, subject to supervised accommodation, a GPS electronic tag, exclusion zones and the risk of recall to prison.
- The Home Office and No 10 say the Immigration Act 1971 protects people who arrived before 1973 from deportation, so revocation of his British citizenship does not currently allow removal.
- Officials also report diplomatic barriers with Pakistan, which has not agreed to accept him, and ministers are exploring both diplomatic measures and possible legal changes to enable removal.
- Survivors say they were not properly informed of his release, have learned of it from the media, and report renewed fear for their safety and inadequate victim support from police and probation services.
- The case has reignited political pressure and scrutiny of past institutional failures in the Rochdale scandal, with calls in Parliament for urgent action, legislative fixes and a continued national inquiry into grooming gangs.