Not deported: Rochdale grooming ringleader STILL in UK

A leader of the Rochdale grooming gang is still living in England despite being given a deportation order nine years ago.

Qari Abdul Rauf, 54, was told that he would need to go back to Pakistan after he served his jail term for child sex offences.

The former taxi driver was one of nine men who were convicted in 2012 of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children under 16 and trafficking for sexual exploitation in and around Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

The 54-year-old was jailed for six years but was set free just two-and-a-half years later in November 2014.

He was stripped of his British citizenship and told he would be deported in 2015, but his native Pakistan also reportedly refused to let him come back.

Rauf and Adil Khan, another abuser, argued that they had renounced their citizenship of the Asian country and would be left stateless.

The pair appealed in 2018 against the ruling to strip them of their citizenship but failed.

Later in 2022, their lawyers argued that their forced removal would be against their human rights, however, that appeal was also unsuccessful.

More than a decade after he was first convicted, the former taxi driver is still enjoying his life in Britain with his family.

On Thursday, he was photographed leaving his three-bedroom house, first published in the Daily Mail.

A Home Office spokesperson said they could not comment on individual cases but added: “The disgraceful failures in Rochdale must never happen again.

"That's why we have set up a dedicated Taskforce of specialist officers to tackle grooming gangs, helping forces target those who prey on young people and bring them to justice, and will introduce mandatory reporting for adults working with young people if someone in their care is being sexually abused.

“We know we must do more to protect vulnerable children and our new Criminal Justice Bill will look to further protect victims and make sure grooming gangs and their leaders face the toughest possible sentences.”