The 51-year-old taxi driver, who ferried victims to sex parties as far away as Leeds and Bradford, was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and jailed for nine years in 2012…reports Asian Lite News
A ringleader of Britain’s notorious Rochdale grooming gang has won his battle against deportation back to his native Pakistan, media reports said.
Abdul Aziz, known as ‘The Master’ by his fellow abusers, was stripped of his UK citizenship in 2018 after using human rights laws in a bid to avoid being thrown out of the country, Daily Mail reported.
But while fellow gang members Adil Khan, 52, and Qari Abdul Rauf, 53, are still fighting efforts to send them back to Pakistan, the status of Aziz has been shrouded in secrecy.
The 51-year-old taxi driver, who ferried victims to sex parties as far away as Leeds and Bradford, was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and jailed for nine years in 2012, Daily Mail reported.
But on Monday, to the outrage of campaigners, it was revealed that in reality, Aziz won his fight to stay in the UK almost four years ago.
The truth was revealed when a barrister representing Rauf in his battle against deportation read out a document which she said then Home Secretary Sajid Javid wrote to Aziz on Halloween 2018.
It revealed that Aziz renounced his Pakistani citizenship on July 13, 2018 – five days before a hearing before the Court of Appeal where he, Rauf and Khan lost their battle against being stripped of British nationality.
As a result, the Home Secretary “has decided not to make a deprivation order in respect of you”, the letter went on – meaning Aziz retained his British citizenship, Daily Mail reported.
The Home Office last night failed to deny that Aziz was therefore no longer facing deportation.
Whistleblower Maggie Oliver, who resigned a detective over failings in how police handled grooming cases in Rochdale, said victims would be “horrified” to learn that Aziz has secretly had his British citizenship restored.
“All three of them should have been kicked out of the country as soon as they were released from prison,” she told the Daily Mail.
“Instead they’ve been given hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal aid to pay for clever lawyers who seek to defend the indefensible.
“It’s just the latest evidence that our criminal justice system is broken and that victims get no consideration at all.”
Victims have repeatedly told of their incredulity that the trio – all of whom had dual UK-Pakistani nationality – remain in the country a decade after they were jailed.
