'This man should not be in the UK': Foreign Secretary won't rule out deal with Pakistan to have grooming gang leader deported

Yvette Cooper insisted “this man should not be in the UK” as she vowed to “keep up international pressure” and the government closed down a key loophole.

On Monday, the Home Secretary confirmed the government would change immigration laws to ensure that foreign criminals can no longer use legal protections to stay in the country if they’re found to have committed serious offences.

Where they are guilty of serious and organised crime like human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, war crimes, or posing a national security threat, then they can essentially have their citizenship revoked.

But in this case, it may not yet mean he is deported as the country of origin has to agree to take them back.

There have been reports that Pakistan is attempting to seal a deal to release dissident prisoners in exchange - something the UK government doesn’t do.

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Speaking to LBC in Brussels, the Foreign Secretary insisted the government was doing all it could to try and get rid of the grooming gang leader.

She said: "This man should not be in the UK. This man should be deported. We have been very clear about that.

"We're now changing the law to ensure that barriers are removed, but we'll also keep up the international pressure.

"Already a lot of the action that we've taken has increased the number of foreign criminals who are being deported, who have no right to be in the United Kingdom.

"It's really important that those rules are enforced, but we will keep up both the international pressure and also look at removing any legal barriers or problems that can prevent the proper rules being enforced and people really thinking the system has to work.”

When grilled on whether she would be up for doing a deal with Pakistan to ensure his removal, she refused to rule it out, adding: “From our point of view, this is really about the proper rules and laws just being enforced, and for people who don't have a right to be in the United Kingdom, especially when they have committed serious crimes.

"We have to make sure that we do everything possible in terms of looking at the international pressure, but also looking at the way in which the rules work.

"And that's what we'll continue to do. We've done it in other cases and we've made progress, but I think it's just immensely important that we keep up the work in this area.

"All those sorts of conversations and work and international pressure, that all continues.”

Mr Ahmed was jailed for 22 years in 2012 for multiple counts of child sexual offences - including rape - but was released on licence earlier this month.

He’s been stripped of British citizenship,  and is of Pakistani heritage.

But he cannot be deported thanks to a 1971 law which forbids Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago - a Windrush safety ruling.

The Home Secretary has confirmed she wants to change this - meaning that foreign criminals who have committed atrocious acts can still be removed.

Talks are ongoing behind the scenes about how it can be done.

The Foreign Secretary is said to be asking officials to pull every lever to find a solution.

But insiders are worried Mr Ahmed will use the ECHR to try and stay in the UK - arguing his right to a family life, and a country he hasn’t returned to for decades.

The case has sparked outrage and calls for Mr Ahmed to be returned to Pakistan.

But the UK does not have a returns agreement with the nation, making this far harder to arrange.

Since leaving prison he has been under 24-hour accommodation, and fitted with a GPS tag - but many of his victims are fearful of his release from prison.

Dr Farzana Shaikh, an expert on Pakistan working at Chatham House, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme negotiations on the issue had seen Pakistan demand the extradition of two political dissidents from the UK."We do know there are back channel negotiations going on - these are fraught and point to quite a diplomatic crisis between the two countries," she said.